Behaviors, Knowledge and Practices of the Population of Ahomadégbé’s District (Municipality of Lalo) in Benin in Connection of Home Water Treatment Methods

Water is an indispensable resource for life. In the district of Ahomadégbé in Benin, access of households to improved water sources is not a problem because a large part of the population has water.

However, people consume poor water quality which is a function of microbiological contamination during transport and storage. The objective of this research is to analyze the behavior, knowledge and practices of households relating drinking water treatment methods in the district of Ahomadégbé with a view to proposing adequate measures for improving the quality of drinking water.

As part of this research, the questionnaire was used to approach 377 residents individually and 82 participants were organized into eight focus groups to understand the behavior, knowledge and practices of population.

The results show that more than 65% of the population of the borough have knowledge of certain process of treating water at home.

But they find themselves limited in the application of these different water treatment methods and only 6.1% of the population used at least one home water treatment method, even if this is not always appropriated.

The water treatment methods residents used were Alum (KAl(SO4)2?12 H2O, chemical decantation method), filtration on tissues, and disinfection by boiling. The populations resort to other techniques of water treatment at home such as the use of oil and cresol which prove ineffective.

The population is aware of water contamination during transport and storage. However, most residents interviewed do not treat water before consumption, and the few who treat it resort to unsuitable methods. Thus, households need to be sensitized on effective and suitable methods of water treatment for their well-being.