Staff Reporter :
A recent study conducted by icddr,b has shed light on the concerning state of toilet access and hygiene in government and private hospitals across Dhaka.
The findings underscore significant gaps in functionality and cleanliness, posing serious health risks to patients and staff alike.
According to the study, only 68 percent of toilets in government hospitals are functional, with a dismal 33 percent being clean.
Private hospitals fared slightly better, with 92 percent functional toilets, yet only 56 percent of them meeting cleanliness standards.
The research, carried out across 12 healthcare facilities in Dhaka, evaluated a total of 2,459 toilets to assess their availability, functionality, and cleanliness.
The collaboration between icddr,b scientists, partners at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia, and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) culminated in the publication of these findings in the journal PLOS ONE.
Poor toilet access and hygiene not only undermine patient comfort but also pose grave health risks, potentially facilitating the spread of diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
The study highlighted alarmingly high user-to-toilet ratios in outpatient facilities, falling significantly short of recommended standards set by WaterAid.
WaterAid guidelines recommend one toilet for every 20–25 patients or carers in outpatient facilities, with additional provisions based on patient volume.
However, both government and private hospitals failed to meet these standards, with 17 users per toilet in government hospitals and 19 users per toilet in private hospitals.
Moreover, neither sector met the criterion of one toilet per six inpatient beds as per Bangladesh’s
national WASH standard and implementation guidelines from 2021. The study also revealed a lack of facilities for disabled individuals and inadequate provisions for menstrual hygiene disposal.
The assessment of toilet functionality and cleanliness, based on criteria established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, further underscored the dire state of sanitation in Dhaka hospitals.
Dr. Md Nuhu Amin, Associate Scientist at icddr,b and principal investigator of the study, expressed concern that the actual sanitation conditions might be even worse, given the study’s timing in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dr. Amin noted that reduced patient flow and toilet usage during the pandemic could have exacerbated the already critical situation.