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Improved water and sanitation variable definitions [message #30057] Tue, 17 September 2024 13:40 Go to next message
jessiex is currently offline  jessiex
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Registered: September 2024
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Hello forum! I am looking for urgent clarity on how the DHS defines "improved water" and "improved sanitation", for DHS 5, 6, 7, and 8. I am using the variables hv201 for water, and hv205 for sanitation.

I found the DHS 8 user manual herehttps:// www.dhsprogram.com/data/Guide-to-DHS-Statistics/index.htm#t= Type_of_Sanitation_Facility.htm. There are manuals for DHS 4 and 7 here. However, I cannot track down the manuals for 5 and 6. I understand that the definitions have changed across years.

Can someone please help? A huge thanks in advance.

Re: Improved water and sanitation variable definitions [message #30085 is a reply to message #30057] Fri, 20 September 2024 11:09 Go to previous message
Janet-DHS is currently offline  Janet-DHS
Messages: 852
Registered: April 2022
Senior Member
Following is a response from DHS staff member, Tom Pullum:

One way to do this is to look at final reports from different phases of DHS. They all include a Chapter 2 table that classifies sources of drinking water into improved and unimproved. For example, I just looked at the reports on the Ethiopia 2005 survey and 2011 survey, which were in DHS-5 and DHS-6. The tables on page 28 and page 14, respectively, give classifications.

DHS does not invent these classifications--they come from the United Nations, specifically WHO. Their classification is the source of the DHS classification.

Also if you look at http://www.statcompiler.com, for the estimates of source of drinking water across sequences of surveys in countries that have had many surveys, such as Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and Nigeria (there are many more) I believe you will find something about the classification.
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