ArticlePloS one2022
Barriers and facilitators to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) practices in Southern Africa: A scoping review.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 80 citations in OpenAlex.
- WASH interventions and child diarrhea at the interface of climate and socioeconomic position in Bangladesh.Nature communications · 2024Trial
- Beyond access: WASH, public health, and sustainable development priorities in Africa-a narrative review.Tropical medicine and health · 2026Review
- Assessment of water, sanitation and hygiene interventions in primary schools: a case study of Uasin Gishu County, Kenya.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Categorization of household drinking water and sanitation service levels and associated determinants in Uganda.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Nature vs. nurture: parental care cushions agricultural drought impacts on child health in South Africa.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Article
- The State of SDG 6 in Nigeria (2016-2024): A Critical Review of Progress and Future Strategies.Environmental health insights · 2026Review
- Designing context-specific implementation strategies to improve water, sanitation, and hygiene in urban low-income settlements in Nigeria: outcome of stakeholders' collaborative approach.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Household water, sanitation, and hygiene practices in Ghana from 1993-2022: a non-linear multivariate Poisson decomposition and traditional predictive modelling approach.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Designing equity-focused sanitation policies in Sub-Saharan Africa: the critical role of subnational data.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Implementation matters: program impact pathway analysis of four sectoral nutrition-sensitive interventions in Anambra and Kebbi states, Nigeria.Global health action · 2025Article
- Water, sanitation, and hygiene challenges and disease burden in eastern India.Journal of water and health · 2025Article
- Why are toilets not used? Using system effects modelling to understand stakeholder perceptions on the impacts and barriers to Taenia solium control in Eastern and Western Uganda.BMC veterinary research · 2025Article
- Climate adaptation in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in humanitarian crises: research and innovation priorities.Journal of water and health · 2025Review
- Knowledge, attitude, and practice of water, sanitation, and hygiene among internally displaced persons in Somalia.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Article
- Exploring the Impact of Traditional Practices onInternational journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- An assessment of the progress made in the implementation of the regional framework for cholera prevention and control in the WHO African region.BMJ global health · 2025Review
- Article
- Improving the health of the rural population in India through bundling WASH practices.Frontiers in health services · 2025Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
A healthy and a dignified life experience requires adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) coverage. However, inadequate WaSH resources remain a significant public health challenge in many communities in Southern Africa. A systematic search of peer-reviewed journal articles from 2010 -May 2022 was undertaken on Medline, PubMed, EbscoHost and Google Scholar from 2010 to May 2022 was searched using combinations of predefined search terms with Boolean operators. Eighteen peer-reviewed articles from Southern Africa satisfied the inclusion criteria for this review. The general themes that emerged for both barriers and facilitators included geographical inequalities, climate change, investment in WaSH resources, low levels of knowledge on water borne-diseases and ineffective local community engagement. Key facilitators to improved WaSH practices included improved WaSH infrastructure, effective local community engagement, increased latrine ownership by individual households and the development of social capital. Water and sanitation are critical to ensuring a healthy lifestyle. However, many people and communities in Southern Africa still lack access to safe water and improved sanitation facilities. Rural areas are the most affected by barriers to improved WaSH facilities due to lack of WaSH infrastructure compared to urban settings. Our review has shown that, the current WaSH conditions in Southern Africa do not equate to the improved WaSH standards described in SDG 6 on ensuring access to water and sanitation for all. Key barriers to improved WaSH practices identified include rurality, climate change, low investments in WaSH infrastructure, inadequate knowledge on water-borne illnesses and lack of community engagement.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.