Research Paper An association between water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and prevalence of trachoma in Monze district of Southern Province, Zambia Musonda Chikwanda, Nosiku Munyinda , Consity Mwale, Prince Mbanefo, Tikulirekuti Chileshe Banda and Patricia Mubita ABSTRACT This study aims to determine the association between water, sanitation, and hygiene, and the prevalence of trachoma in Monze district, Zambia. The overall prevalence of trachoma among residents of Monze district is 2.0% disaggregated as 3.4% for 1–9 age group and 1.1% for 10 age group. The findings reveal an association between trachoma eye infection and drinking water source from protected well/spring, and piped water. After adjusting for other variables, there was an association of drinking water from a protected well/spring (AOR 8.343, CI 1.126–61.803), piped water (AOR 4.127, CI 1.088–15.648), and piped water for washing (AOR 0.172, 95% CI 0.031–0.944.439). The presence of a hand wash facility was very low at 2.9% while hand washing agents were even lower at 0.41%. The study concludes that children are at a higher risk of trachoma prevalence. Other WASH aspects, such as adequacy of water, might be more important than the presence of potable water. The prevalence of trachoma in Monze is WASH focused. Key words | trachoma, water and sanitation HIGHLIGHTS • The research showed a significant need for attention 1–9 age group. Children are at a higher risk of trachoma prevalence. • The research reveals that having water from a protected water source if the water source is not easily accessible makes trachoma prevention difficult. • The findings serve as a foundation for the Monze Municipal Council and the community to advocate for more resources allocation to access to quality water. Musonda Chikwanda (corresponding author) University of Zambia Ridgeway Campus, University of Zambia School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health, Lusaka, Zambia E-mail: musondachikwanda1@gmail.com Nosiku Munyinda Patricia Mubita School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health, University of Zambia Ridgeway Campus, Lusaka, Zambia Consity Mwale Ministry of Health, Lusaka District Medical Office, Lusaka, Zambia Prince Mbanefo American University, School of Public Affairs, Department of Law and Economics, Washington DC, USA Tikulirekuti Chileshe Banda Center for Infectious Diseases Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia INTRODUCTION According to Feasey et al. (), trachoma is a neglected tropical disease. It is the leading cause of blindness worldwide and remains a major public health problem in 42 countries and responsible for the blindness or visual impairment of about 1.9 million people. It causes about 1.4% of all blindness worldwide, with the global focus in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly its poorest and most isolated rural communities (Agarwal et al. ). In 2013, This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY 4.0), which permits copying, adaptation and redistribution, provided the original work is properly cited (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 453 Research Paper © 2021 The Authors Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development | 11.3 | 2021 doi: 10.2166/washdev.2021.255 Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/washdev/article-pdf/11/3/453/889924/washdev0110453.pdf by guest on 28 October 2023