WASH Interventions and Child Mortality Reduction in Rural Ethiopian Villages: An Impact Evaluation Study

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions have been implemented in rural communities to reduce child mortality rates. In Ethiopia, these efforts are crucial given the country's high prevalence of waterborne diseases. A mixed-method approach combining quantitative data from health records with qualitative insights through interviews was employed. Data were collected over a two-year period in selected villages. Analysis of the data revealed that improved WASH infrastructure correlated with a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in child mortality rates by 20% across participating villages. The findings suggest that targeted WASH interventions can effectively contribute to reducing child mortality, highlighting the importance of continued and scaled-up efforts. Governments and non-governmental organizations should prioritise funding for WASH programmes in rural areas to ensure equitable access to basic hygiene services. Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p_i)=\beta_0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.