Availability of Soap

Washing hands with soap is the most effective way of preventing life-threatening diarrhoeal diseases. The indicator therefore assesses the proportion of households having soap available for their use.

Collect the following data by conducting individual interviews with a representative sample of the adult members of your target households:

RECOMMENDED SURVEY QUESTIONS (Q) AND POSSIBLE ANSWERS (A)

Q1: Do you currently have any soap for washing hands?

A1: yes / no / doesn't know

(ask the next question only if the previous answer is YES)

Q2: Can you please show it to me?

A2: 

1) soap was reported and is available

2) soap was reported, is available but took longer than 1 minute to bring        

3) soap was reported but is NOT available

Calculate the indicator's value by dividing the number of respondents which within one minute brought and showed a soap by the total number of respondents and multiplying the result by 100. 

Disaggregate the data by wealth.

1) According to UNHCR's standards, the proportion of households having soap at home should be ≥ 90%. 

2) ECHO's list of the Key Result Indicators (KRI) uses a different version of a soap-related indicator: "number of people having regular access to soap to meet hygienic needs". ECHO's guidance on the use of this indicator is available below. 

3) USAID/OFDA uses a different version of this indicator: "number of households with soap and water at a hand washing location". See USAID/OFDA's guidance on this indicator.

4) Do not count washing powder and other detergents as 'soap' as it is very unlikely that they would be used for washing hands every day.