title: Access to drinking water and health of populations in Sub-Saharan Africa.
abstract: Water is at the center of the plant and animal life, the foundation upon which the health of human settlement and development of civilizations rely on. In tropical regions, 80% of diseases are transmitted either by germs in the water, or by vectors staying in it. In Sub-Saharan Africa, statistics show particularly high levels of unmet needs of populations in access to drinking water in a context of socioeconomic development. For this purpose, this study aims to determine the influence of access to drinking water on the health of populations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) from Cameroon, Senegal and Chad, it is clear from the descriptive analysis that 60% (Cameroon), and 59% (Chad) of the cases of childhood diarrhea in these two countries are due to the consumption of dirty water. In terms of explanatory analysis, we note that when a household in Cameroon, Senegal or Chad does not have access to drinking water, children under 5 years old residing there are respectively 1.29, 1.27 and 1.03 times more likely to have diarrhea than those residing in households with easy access to drinking water. In view of these results, it is recommended to increase access to drinking water in particular by reducing disparities between the rich and poor people.
authors.affiliation: University of Yaoundé II, Faculty of Economics and Management, Yaoundé, Cameroon. julienntouda@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ntouda
authors.forename: Fondo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sikodf
authors.forename: Mohamadou
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Abba
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017954:Africa South of the Sahara / Q000453:epidemiology; D002163:Cameroon; D002648:Child; D003710:Demography; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011153:Population; D012424:Rural Population; D012675:Senegal; D014505:Urban Population; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014876:Water Pollution; D014881:Water Supply / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water
keywords: Access to drinking water; Accès à l’eau potable; Health of populations; Santé des populations