Utilization of Water Sanitation Information in Oyo State

Abstract

This study, focused on utilization of water sanitation information in Oyo State. A multistage sampling technique was employed for the study. The first stage involved the purposive selection of all the four agricultural zones in Oyo State and those zones are; Ibadan/Ibarapa, Ogbomoso,  Oyo, and Saki. The second stage involved purposive selection of two blocks from each of the agricultural zone which are known for water borne disease incidences and their access to information from water and sanitation (WATSAN) unit of the local government councils. So, Akinyele, Ibarapa east, Ogo-Oluwa, Oriire, Iseyin, Oyo east, Saki east and Olorunsogo respectively were selected. The third stage involved random selection of two villages from each of the selected blocks: and a total of 230 household heads were sampled.  Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi square.

The mean year of experience is 22.58 years. The distribution of respondents by the membership of social organization shows 83 per cent of the respondents belong to one social organization or the other while 17 per cent did not belong to any social organization. The distribution of respondents by their farm size. 39.6 had between 1 and 3 hectares, 37.4 had between 4 and 6 hectares, 14.8 per cent of the respondents had between 7 and 10 hectares while 8.2 per cent of the respondent had above 10 hectares. The mean farm size is 2.3 hectares. The mean annual income is 271,834.27. One major  benefit  of water  and  sanitation  improvements  is  the  time  saving associated with  better  access. 78.3 percent agreed that it leads to increase in life expectancy. 64.3 percent. Another 60 per cent agreed that it reduces burden of water on women, 95.7 per cent reported that it leads to reduction in budget share on water borne diseases. 76.5 per cent. The use of clean and covered containers was ranked first with a weighted mean score (WMS) of 3.62as a major way of utilizing water sanitation information. It was concluded that, the use of clean container, securing water from clean environment, securing germ free water,are among the frequency utilized water sanitation.