Bangladesh 2014

In the 2014 BDHS, interviewers were instructed to observe the place where household members
usually wash their hands. They looked for regularity of water supply, observed whether the household had
cleansing agents near the place of hand washing, and noted the location of the place of hand washing. The
interviewers found designated places for hand washing in almost all the households (96 percent), an
improvement since 2011, when 86 households had a designated place for hand washing (NIPORT et al.
2013).
Twenty-nine percent of households have soap and water in the place where household members
wash their hands, 8 percent have water and other cleansing agents (ash, mud, sand, etc.), and the majority
(59 percent) have water only. Overall, 4 percent of households do not have water, soap, or any cleansing
agent.
Forty-eight percent of urban households have soap and water compared with 21 percent of rural
households. Availability of hand washing facilities with soap and water varies across divisions, ranging from
32 percent of households in Dhaka and Chittagong to 20 percent in Barisal. The use of soap and water for
hand washing increases with an increase in household wealth. For example, use of soap and water is lowest
among households in the lowest wealth quintile (6 percent) and highest (75 percent) among those in the
highest wealth quintile.
Table 2.3 Hand washing: availability of cleansing agents
Percentage of households in which the place most often used for washing hands was observed, and among households in which the place for hand washing
was observed, percent distribution by availability of water, soap, and other cleansing agents, Bangladesh 2014
Background
characteristics
Percentage
of
households
where place
for washing
hands was
observed
Number of
households
Soap and
water 1
Among households where place for hand washing was observed
Water and
cleansing
agent 2
other than
soap only Water only
Soap but
no water 3
Cleansing
agent other
than soap
only 2
No water,
no soap,
no other
cleansing
agent Missing Total
Number of
households
with place
for hand
washing
observed
Residence
Urban 98.2 4,844 47.9 5.5 43.8 0.1 0.0 2.5 0.1 100.0 4,758
Rural 94.5 12,456 20.9 9.4 64.9 0.2 0.3 4.3 0.1 100.0 11,765
Division
Barisal 90.7 1,071 19.9 8.7 68.4 0.0 0.0 3.0 0.0 100.0 972
Chittagong 92.9 3,098 31.8 4.3 59.6 0.1 0.1 4.1 0.0 100.0 2,879
Dhaka 96.6 6,047 31.6 8.9 56.9 0.0 0.3 2.1 0.1 100.0 5,843
Khulna 98.1 1,786 24.7 7.8 61.9 0.2 0.1 5.1 0.2 100.0 1,752
Rajshahi 96.8 2,125 28.3 10.0 54.1 0.5 0.3 6.7 0.0 100.0 2,058
Rangpur 97.8 2,023 27.4 13.1 57.5 0.2 0.2 1.6 0.1 100.0 1,979
Sylhet 90.6 1,150 21.2 4.1 64.6 0.8 0.0 9.2 0.1 100.0 1,042
Wealth quintile
Lowest 89.9 3,523 5.7 9.2 76.7 0.1 0.7 7.4 0.1 100.0 3,166
Second 94.0 3,498 8.2 11.5 74.7 0.1 0.1 5.3 0.1 100.0 3,288
Middle 96.5 3,393 18.0 11.4 66.4 0.2 0.1 3.8 0.0 100.0 3,275
Fourth 98.0 3,447 33.9 8.0 55.8 0.2 0.1 1.9 0.2 100.0 3,377
Highest 99.4 3,438 74.5 1.7 22.6 0.2 0.0 0.8 0.1 100.0 3,418
Total 95.5 17,300 28.6 8.3 58.8 0.2 0.2 3.8 0.1 100.0 16,524
1
Soap includes soap or detergent in bar, liquid, powder, or paste form. This column includes households with soap and water only as well as those that had
soap and water and another cleansing agent.
2
Cleansing agents other than soap include locally available materials such as ash, mud, or sand.
3
Includes households with soap only as well as those with soap and another cleansing agent
Table 2.4 shows that 25 percent of households have a designated place for hand washing, which is
covered and located inside the dwelling. For 31 percent of households, this place is in open space but not
shared, and for the remaining 44 percent of households the hand washing place is in an open space and
shared. Urban households are more likely to have a covered place for hand washing located inside the
dwelling (46 percent) compared with rural households (17 percent). Only 6 percent of households in the
lowest wealth quintile were observed to have a place for hand washing that is covered and located inside the
dwelling, compared with 68 percent of households in the highest wealth quintile.
12 • Housing Characteristics and Household Population