Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in East Sumba, Indonesia

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Abstract

This research aims to identify the key stakeholders, explain factors that influence water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) behaviours, determine the chance of bacterial contamination in water, and hygiene and sanitary practises in East Sumba. The interview results show that DinKes (health agency), PAMSIMAS (rural water company), and the village board are the key players that connect the upper administrative units to the local communities. The data obtained also show that the root causes that influence the WASH condition are low education level, upbringing norms, weak economy, and geography. The water quality testing results show that in terms of E. coli 14% and 12% of the respondents had a high chance of contamination in their water source and household respectively. These numbers are 25% and 29% in terms of total coliforms. Approximately 59% respondents still use poor sanitation facilities, which includes open defecation (33%) and unimproved latrines (26%). The other 14% respondents are listed under limited sanitation service, and 27% of the respondents had their own toilet, however, it is difficult to conclude if these people fall under the basic or safely managed category of sanitation services.