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Influence of Social and Cultural Factors on Adoption of Community-Led Total Sanitation in Laisamis Sub-County, Marsabit County, Kenya

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Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) is a behavior change approach that aims at promoting access to safe sanitation and hygiene. The approach empower communities to take collective action to eliminate open defecation practices, thus promoting a healthy population. Despite CLTS implementation in Kenya, open defecation is still rampant, in low-income communities particularly in pastoral areas. This study’s study was to examine the influence of social and cultural factors on adoption of Community-Led Total Sanitation in pastoral areas. The study was conducted in Laisamis Sub-County, Marsabit County, Kenya using a descriptive design with a mixed methods approach. The sample size was 393 household heads who were randomly selected from the five Wards in the Sub-County, which were treated as clusters. The data was collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed in descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative data was collected from a focus group and analyzed in themes. Findings showed that despite CLTS activities to impart communities with knowledge on toilet use, 63.3% of participants opined that open defecation practice was still rampant. The most cases of open defecation were reported among herdsmen whose livelihood was based in herding in grazelands where there were no toilets. Results also revealed that taboos and beliefs that surrounded toilet sharing between children and adults affected toilet utilization (OR 0.67 95% CI: 0.345-4.567, P=0.002). The impact of CLTS was thought to be minimal for a community that often interacted with animal faeces, which made over 90% of the participants believe that human faecal matter was not dangerous just like animal faecal matter. The role of women in household sanitation matters was appreciated as they were left in households to construct toilets while men went to look after cattle. However, herdsmen’s concerns regarding the essence of investing in improved latrines were minimal as most of their time was spent in the fields, and convincing them on the need for better toilets could have been impossible for the women. The study concluded that CLTS was an effective strategy in triggering behaviour change among communities if its execution was to be context-specific. Involvement of both women and men in CLTS triggering exercises is essential in reinforcing the importance of ending open defecation whether in bushes or at home.

Social and Cultural Factors Influencing Promotion of Latrine Utilization in Laisamis Sub-County, Marsabit, Kenya

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The issue of sanitation has long existed and drawn criticism from figures like Mahatma Gandhi, who stated that sanitation in a community is more important than independence. Latrine utilization is among ways of ensuring that communities are safe and are not interacting with disease causing pathogens. However, the presence of latrines has not completely been a guarantee for their utilization especially among the pastoral communities. The objectives of this study was to examine the social and cultural factors influencing promotion of latrine utilization Laisamis Sub-County, Marsabit County, Kenya. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in two selected Wards in Laisamis Sub-County using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Quantitive data was collected from 177 households using questionnaires and analysed in descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative data was gathered from selected members from a focus group discussion. The data was analysed thematically and presented in narratives.  The social factors that showed a significant influence on latrine utilization included: perceived health benefits (p=0.000<0.05), accessibility of latrines (p=0.000<0.05), respect associated with latrines ownership (p=0.05) and social norms (p=0.000<0.05). Cultural beliefs relating to defecation in enclosed places such as toilets seemed to encourage open defecation despite latrine presence. Taboos surrounding sharing of latrines for men and women and among in-laws was reported to attract latrine avoidance especially when the available toilets were not separated. It was established that cultural practices for some groups such as morans discouraged toilets utilization. The influence of cultural taboos, barriers and beliefs on latrine utilization was significant (p<0.05). The study concluded that owning a latrine in Laisamis Sub-County did not guarantee use because of the influence of social and cultural issues. The study recommended community engagement and robust education campaigns using local leaders and influencers to dispel taboos and beliefs against latrine use. Context-specific behaviour change strategies could encourage positive habits and increase utilization of latrines in the sub-county.