Vol. 5, Issue 7, Part B (2019)

Abstract
Childhood diarrhoea is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in under-fives. Globally, poor water, sanitation and hygiene practices play a role in endemic disease transmission, causing childhood morbidity and mortality. However, the linkages between the WaSH practices and childhood diarrhoea have not been fully explored and established in Abia State. This study was thus designed to assess the association between the water, sanitation and hygiene practices and the occurrence of childhood diarrhoea in Abia State. A community based cross sectional study design was used to assess diarrhoeal disease among under-fives. A total of 1209 caregivers of children 0-5 years were recruited by multistage sampling technique, with one child from each household. Data were collected from the caregivers using the 2006 UNICEF and WHO harmonized checklist. Prevalence of diarrhoea among the children was 15.1%, and this was statistically significantly associated with access to water, sanitation practices and personal hygiene of their caregivers (ρË‚0.05). This study concludes that poor access to water, and poor sanitation and hygiene practices of care givers are directly related to the occurrence of diarrhoea among their children. It is hereby recommended that access to water, proper sanitation and hygiene practices should be scaled up in Abia State in order to improve the overall health of the children below 5 years.