Is Benin on track to reach universal household coverage of basic water, sanitation and hygiene services by 2030?

INTRODUCTION: With the end of the Millennium Agenda, the United Nations Member States adopted the Sustainable Development Agenda in 2015. This new agenda identifies 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets for 2030, including Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). OBJECTIVE: To study the evolution of household access to WASH services over the last two decades in Benin and make projections for 2030. METHODS: In this study, secondary analyses were performed using the datasets of the Demographic and Health Surveys in Benin from 2001 to 2017-2018. The statistical unit was the household. The achievement of the WASH SDGs targets was monitored through the proportion of households using individual basic WASH services, the proportion of households using surface water for drinking, and the proportion of households practising open defecation. The study generated Annual Percentage Changes (APCs) for outcome variables. Based on the APCs between 2001 and 2017-2018, projections were made for 2030. RESULTS: From 2001 to 2017-2018, household access to individual basic WASH services increased from 50.54% to 63.98% (APC = +1.44%), 5.39% to 13.29% (APC = +5.62%), and 2.12% to 10.11% (APC = +9.92%), respectively. At the same time, the prevalence of surface water consumption and open defecation among households decreased from 10.54% to 5.84% (APC = -3.52%) and 67.03% to 53.91% (APC = -1.31%), respectively. If the trend observed between 2001 and 2017-2018 remains unchanged, the national coverage of households with basic individual WASH services would be 76.50%, 26.33% and 10.51%, respectively, by 2030. The prevalence of surface water consumption and open defecation among households would be 3.73% and 45.71%, respectively, by 2030. CONCLUSION: Benin achieved significant progress in household coverage of adequate WASH services over the last two decades. However, progress appears insufficient to achieve universal coverage of households with basic WASH services, and eliminate surface water consumption and open defecation by 2030. There is a need to strengthen research into the drivers of household access to adequate WASH services.

["Getting clear skin and why not?": voluntary depigmentation among women in a southwest region of Benin]. / "Avoir la peau claire et pourquoi pas? ": dépigmentation volontaire chez les femmes dans une région du sud-ouest du Bénin.

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to determine the prevalence and the factors associated with the use of products for voluntary depigmentation among women aged 15-49 years in Comè health zone in Benin. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 511 women aged 15-49 years selected using a cluster survey in 2016. Data were collected using a questionnaire seeking to explore the demographic, socio-cultural and economic characteristics of women. Depigmentation ingredients have been identified looking at the composition of regularly used body lotions. We performed a multiple logistic regression analysis. The statistical significance level was set at 5%. RESULTS: The prevalence of use for voluntary depigmentation products among women aged 15-49 years in Comè health zone was 79,22% 95%; CI=[75,72-82,78] and 84,23% of women knew at least one of the adverse health effects associated with the use of skin depigmentation products. The products used were hydroquinone based (98.24%) and dermocorticoid based (1.76%). Factors associated with the use of voluntary depigmentation products included marital status (single, widowed, separated or divorced) (OR=3.1; 95% CI=[1.29-7.44]), the search for a husband or a partner (OR=4.92; 95% CI=[1.20-20.09]), the presence of hyperpigmented spots (OR=10.32; 95% CI=[2.87-37,01]). CONCLUSION: These results show that the use of skin depigmentation products among women is a serious and huge public health problem in Comè health zone. Integrated communication campaign which can produce positive changes should be implemented.

Data quality assessment in the routine health information system: an application of the Lot Quality Assurance Sampling in Benin.

Health information systems in developing countries are often faulted for the poor quality of the data generated and for the insufficient means implemented to improve system performance. This study examined data quality in the Routine Health Information System in Benin in 2012 and carried out a cross-sectional evaluation of the quality of the data using the Lot Quality Assurance Sampling method. The results confirm the insufficient quality of the data based on three criteria: completeness, reliability and accuracy. However, differences can be seen as the shortcomings are less significant for financial data and for immunization data. The method is simple, fast and can be proposed for current use at operational level as a data quality control tool during the production stage.