ASSESSMENT OF WATER SANITATION AND HYGIENE (WASH) SERVICES AND HOUSEHOLD VULNERABILITY TO WATER INSECURITY IN SELECTED TOWNS WITHIN UPPER OGUN RIVER BASIN

Abstract

ABSTRACT Water insecurity is one of the most pressing challenges facing Sub-Saharan Africa, where there is inadequate access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities. This study assessed Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) services, household vulnerability and coping strategies to water insecurity in selected towns in Upper Ogun River Basin (UORB), Nigeria. Iseyin, Saki East, and Saki West Local Government Areas (LGA) were purposively selected within the UORB. Multistage sampling method was used to identify one prominent town from each LGA – Iseyin (Iseyin), Saki (Saki West), and Sepeteri (Saki East). Each selected town was systematically separated into clusters, from which communities and households were randomly selected to ensure geographic representation for data collection. Primary and secondary data were collected during this study. Two hundred and fifty (250) copies of well structured questionnaire were administered in addition to Water Quality Assessment data. Water samples were analysed for physico-chemical parameter which included pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, lead, copper, iron, chloride, hardness, alkalinity, total solids and microbiological parameters (total coliform count, and Escherichia coli). Secondary data comprised 30-year remotely sensed rainfall data (1993-2023) sourced from Climate Engine portal, and Health records from Oyo State Ministry of Health. Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) was employed to assess the meteorological drought patterns, while Joint Monitoring Programme's WASH Service Ladder provided standard criteria for WASH service classification. A novel household vulnerability assessment framework was developed using Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Social Vulnerability Index approach. The results indicated issues with water availability and deterioration in water quality across all the three locations. SPI analysis showed an increasing trend toward dryness, with severe to extreme drought conditions from 2013-2023, and particularly intensified from 2021-2023 when SPI values reached exceptional dryness levels below -2.0. WASH services varied significantly across locations, with Sepeteri showing the most critical conditions where 64% of households practised open defecation and 82% lacked adequate basic hand washing facilities. Water quality analysis showed widespread contamination, with iron concentrations (3.01- 4.98 mg/L) exceeding WHO standards at all sampling locations and microbial contamination with E. coli present in 7, 20 and 19 samples collected at Iseyin, Saki and Sepeteri respectively. Most samples can be traced to the effect of open defecation in the area particularly at Sepeteri. The results also showed pattern between drought conditions and malaria prevalence, with negative SPI values consistently aligning with malaria outbreaks across all locations, thereby suggesting that drought monitoring could serve as an early warning system for vector-borne disease surveillance. Household vulnerability assessment revealed that while Iseyin (72%) and Saki (80%) maintained relatively high proportions of low-vulnerability households, Sepeteri faced severe challenges with only 28% classified as low vulnerability and 48% experiencing between high to very high vulnerability to water insecurity. The study concluded that water insecurity has an impact on public health and household coping mechanisms across the Upper Ogun River Basin with major impact at Sepeteri.