Introduction: Access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is a basic human right, yet
globally748 million people lack access to improved drinking water, 2.5 billion lack access to
improved sanitation and 946 million still practice open defecation. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts
for 66% of the global new HIV infections. Access to improved WASH is an important issue,
especially for people living with HIV/AIDS. They are more prone to opportunistic infections like
diarrhea arising from the lack of proper sanitation and access to clean water. In Kenya, there is a
dearth of literature examining the association between HIV status and the access to improved
water and sanitation. This study sought to address this topic.
Aim: We set out to determine the association between HIV status and the access to improved
water and sanitation in Kenya using the 2008 -2009 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey
(KDHS).
Methods: The study analyzed 3753 HIV negative households and 422 HIV positive households.
For descriptive statistics, a weighted sample was used to obtain the frequencies and percentages.
Weighted bivariate and multivariable logistic regression was used to establish the association
between HIV status and the independent variables of interest.
Results: There were no statistically significant associations in access to improved water or
improved sanitation comparing HIV status and covariates measuring the access to improved
water and sanitation. We did find, however, a statistically significant higher odds of HIV positive
households reporting treating their drinking water compared to HIV negative households
(adjusted odds ratio = 1.4; 95% confidence interval 1.11, 1.84).
Discussion: HIV positive patients are more vulnerable to opportunistic infections than the rest of
the population.It is imperative for the Kenyan gorvenment to tailor specific interventions that are
targeted to this particular group,through scaling up the access to basic sanitation and piped water
as well as emphasizing appropriate water treatment methods at the point of use.