Access and Use of Latrines for Everyone? The Case of the Far North Region (Cameroon)

Introduction: Difficulty of access to and use of decent latrines is one of the major concerns of our century. This, as it affects more than one billion people, particularly in the developing world. Even more, it affects the health of people and seriously hinders their development as well as their mental and social well-being. It is as a prelude to the foregoing that this study was conducted with the aim of assessing the type of devices and their level of use by households in Far North of Cameroon.

Methodology: An investigation was conducted among 1,050 households selected in a stratified manner in 56 villages in 10 communes of the Far North region during the year 2016. This through an evaluation of the type of device, as well as their level of use by households in this region.

Results: More than 80% of the latrines encountered are unimproved because they do not allow a safe separation between feces, humans and the environment. The percentage of use of these devices is 92.5% for the households surveyed, which is below the national level estimated at 94%. The non-users of latrines are either non latrine holders or latrine holders who prefer to relieve themselves in the open air.

Conclusion: The study revealed that the majority of households use latrines. However, these latrines are mostly unimproved. Open defecation is still practiced in some localities.

Impact of the study: This study provides the baseline situation for latrine use in the Far North and thus marks the starting point for any intervention to improve the situation of latrine access in this region.