A Study on Water Sanitation and Hygiene [Wash] in Rural Area of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

Background: Adequate drinking water, sanitation and hygiene are all essential ingredients to ensure health. Most often related to unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation and inadequate hygiene causes Diarrhea and leads to death among children under five. It kills more children than Malaria or HIV/AIDS. Objective: To determine Knowledge of Hygiene and Sanitation among respondents. Methods: A community based descriptive study was conducted among 305 respondents from 6 villages of Allahabad from February to March 2018 systematic random sampling method was adopted to choose the respondents above 18 year. The data were collected using a pretested semi-structured interview schedule, through the house to house visits. Results: Half (50%) of the respondents were farmer whereas 27.5% had business, 19.3% were labourer in occupation and 3.3% were unemployed. 97.7% of the respondents were not treating drinking and cooking water. 2.3% of the respondents filter water use for drinking and cooking. 6.6% of the respondents used soap for hand wash before eating, 5.6% before cooking, 85% after toilet and 2.2% after feeding. Conclusion: The study reveals that knowledge and practice about Water Sanitation and hygiene was limited among rural population in Allahabad.