Status of Sanitation Facilities and Hygiene Practices in Yakurr Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria

The study was a descriptive study, designed to describe the status of sanitation facilities and hygiene practices in Yakurr Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria. Five communities were selected by simple random sampling for the study. Multi-stage random sampling technique which involved four stages was used to select 410 households and structured questionnaire, observation and key-informant interview were used for data collection. The statistical package for social sciences software (SPSS version 20) and MS Excel (2010) were used for data analysis. Results from the study shows that 46.1% of respondents used borehole water as main source of water. Basic types of toilet facilities available in the studied communities were inadequate and substandard; this further compound the already existing poor sanitation and unsafe hygiene practices (26.6% traditional pit latrine). Approximately 52.9% of respondents had handwashing stand to wash hands after defecating while 5.4% used basin with tap for handwashing. 53.9% of respondents washed hands with water only, while 45.6% of respondents washed hands with soap. The lack of access to potable water supply and toilet facilities could affect the general hygiene status of the communities. It was recommended among others that the government should provide more basic sanitary facilities and adequate potable water. Good personal and community hygiene requires sufficient water and basic sanitary facilities