Progress and slippage of sanitation and hygiene targets in Malawi: is SDG6.2 achievable?

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 aims to achieve ‘access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defaecation’ by 2030. We present an in-depth investigation of sanitation and hygiene practices of 939 Malawian households in two districts, previously declared open defaecation-free (ODF). We evaluated whether ODF status was maintained by evaluating access to sanitation and hygiene. We found that 17% returned to open defaecation, and faeces were observed in around 10% of the households. We suggest that ODF status is not enough; work is required to maintain progress and consideration of construction quality is critical. Another barrier to SDG 6.2 was that only 7.9% of households had handwashing facilities with soap and water, with soap as a major limitation. However, most households (82%) had soap available for washing suggesting that soap is not being prioritised in handwashing.