Impact of Environmental Sanitation in Curbing the Proliferation of Mosquito Breeding Sites in Jaba Local Government area of Kaduna State

Abstract

This study was carried out on Impacts of environmental sanitation in curbing the proliferation of mosquito breeding sites in Jaba Local Government. A descriptive cross-sectional study design A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to generate data from 450 adult respondents who were selected using multi-stage sampling technique. An observational checklist was used to assess the sanitary condition of residential dwellings and facilities. Data generated was entered into excel spread sheet and exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20.0) software for analysis. Results were presented in frequencies, tables and charts. Chi-square was used to test for association between variables at 0.05 α level. It was revealed that 283 (62.9%) respondents exhibited poor environmental sanitation practices while 167 (37.1%) had good environmental sanitation practices. It also was observed that age (p=0.023), gender (p=0.000), educational status (p=0.000) and income (p=0.000) were found to be statistically significantly associated with environmental sanitation practices. Hence, malaria intervention programmes should be redesigned or remodeled to include the core components of environmental sanitation to prevent mosquito breeding and mitigate malaria transmission in rural areas. The government at all levels in conjunction with the local communities should provide basic sanitation facilities such as good channeling of drainage systems for proper disposal of wastewater and waste collection services for proper disposal of household generated solid wastes, etc. This is critical to the prevention and control of mosquitoes and malaria transmission. Agricultural activities such as the use of bamboo in the construction of yam barns and the planting of water-bearing crops that encourage the breeding of mosquitoes should be restricted to places outside residential areas. This would also minimize mosquito breeding and exposure to malaria transmission. Government, Stake holders and non-governmental organizations should redesign a plan of action to sensitize the households about the importance of proper waste disposal so as to maintain their positive attitude in Jaba Local Government.