Research Article Hygiene and Sanitation Practices and the Risk of Morbidity among Children 6–23 Months of Age in Kumbungu District, Ghana Fusta Azupogo, 1 Fadilatu Abdul-Rahaman, 1 Beatrice Gyanteh, 1 and Ambrose Atosona 2 1 Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana 2 Department of Nutritional Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana Correspondence should be addressed to Ambrose Atosona; aatosona@yahoo.com Received 11 August 2019; Accepted 19 October 2019; Published 12 December 2019 Academic Editor: Jennifer L. Freeman Copyright © 2019 Fusta Azupogo et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. Poor hygiene and sanitation (WASH) practices are characterised by the manifestation of disease and infections, notably diarrhoea and respiratory tract infections (RTIs) among children. is study aimed to assess the influence of WASH practices on the occurrence of diarrhoea and RTIs among children 6–23 months of age. Methods. An analytical cross-sectional study design was conducted in June 2017. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select 300 mothers/caregivers with children aged 6–23 months from 9 communities in the Kumbungu District. We assessed the WASH practices, socio-demographic characteristics of the households and the occurrence of diarrhoea and RTIs among the children with a semi-structured questionnaire. e Hygiene Improvement Framework observational guide was adapted for household sanitation. Backward binary multiple logistic regression was used to determine the WASH practices that significantly predicted morbidity. Results. About 53% and 55.3% of the children reportedly experienced diarrhoea and RTIs, respectively, two weeks before the survey. Caregiver handwashing with soap aſter defecation [OR = 0.32 (95% C.I: 0.19, 0.52)] and before feeding [OR = 0.50 (95% C.I: 0.30, 0.84)] as well as washing the child’s hands with or without soap before feeding [OR = 0.21 (95% C.I: 0.04, 1.01)] were associated with lower odds of diarrhoea morbidity. e main determinants of RTI morbidity included caregiver handwashing with or without soap aſter defecation [OR = 0.29 (95% C.I: 0.10, 0.81)] and washing of the child’s hands with soap before feeding [OR = 0.60 (95% C.I: 0.37, 0.99)] However, we found no association between household sanitation and diarrhoea as well as RTI among the children. Conclusion. About a half each of the children had diarrhoea and RTI 2 weeks before the survey. e results emphasise the need for urgent targeting of handwashing and waste disposal programmes to avert the high burden of diarrhoea and RTIs among children. 1. Introduction Globally, diseases such as diarrhoea and respiratory tract infections (RTIs) have been identified as major threats to child survival. Diarrhoea, defined as the passage of three or more loose/liquid stools per day, is one of the leading causes of mor- bidity and mortality in children under five years [1–3]. According to the WHO [3], an estimated 1.7 billion cases of diarrhoea disease occur annually worldwide, with approxi- mately 525 000 children dying from the disease. Diarrhoea is currently the second most important cause of child morbidity and mortality aſter malaria. Similarly, acute respiratory tract infections are a significant cause of death among children under five years of age [4]. Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTIs) refers to infec- tions in the respiratory tract down to the larynx and include common cold, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, otitis media and exter- nal, sinusitis, stomatitis etc. [5]. Lower Respiratory Tract Infections (LRTIs) refer to infections below the larynx and include pneumonia, bronchitis, bronchiolitis, empyema, lung abscess etc. [5]. ese conditions are responsible for between 1.9 million and 2.2 million childhood deaths [4]. According to Williams et al. [4], it is further documented that 42% of RTIs associated deaths occur in Africa [4]. In most cases, RTIs can also be as a result of diarrhoea over an extended period [6]. Underlying reasons for the spread of these diseases are found in poor hygiene and sanitation, limited access to safe Hindawi Advances in Public Health Volume 2019, Article ID 4313759, 12 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/4313759