Slum sanitation and hygiene practices (Bangladesh)

The study has explored hygiene and sanitation practices of slum dwellers of Kushtia district in Bangladesh. The findings provide an insight that will help to understand the proper condition and environment of slums as well as how the people maintain their personal hygiene and sanitation behavior. In perspective of personal hygiene, about 93% slum dwellers brush their teeth daily, 85% cut their nails for 2-4 times monthly, 97% bathe daily, 76% do not feel any problem or do not have complain about their bathing place and 77% wash their clothes in a week. In addition, 74% slum dwellers wash their hands with soap water after defecation and 73% do not have any economic challenges for buying a hand- washing soap in the slum of Kushtia district. Besides, about 92% have personal latrine and most of them clean latrine weekly (9%), in the alternative week (26%) and monthly (36%). They dispose feces of children aged under five at latrine (47%), rest of them dispose into drain, canal, river etc. Most of them dispose waste into undesignated open place and discharge waste water into drain, canal, open fields etc. About 64% people have personal tubewell and 35% do not feel any problems of drinking water. But arsenic and iron problems have found in various tubewells in different areas. However, most of the people are satisfied with drinking water but not with the latrine. They have knowledge and consciousness about hygienic behavior but still due to bad habit and economic insufficiency, many people are not serious about hygiene and sanitation practices. The slum people of all upazilas maintain good hygiene and sanitation practices on average.