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Introduction: Globally, 1.2 million cases of cholera have been reported in 2017, with 5,654 fatalities. Sixty percent of these cholera cases were reported from Sub-Saharan Africa. Cholera transmission is linked to various routes, such as unsafe water, poor sanitation in public markets, and lack of pit latrines in urban slums, poor hygiene, and cross-border transmission from neighboring countries. In 2018, the World Health Organization formulated the goal of ending cholera by 2030 through the implementation of WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) interventions to prevent and control cholera. 

Objective: A rapid review to explore the effectiveness of sanitation services in preventing and controlling cholera and to identify gaps in the evidence on sanitation in preventing and controlling cholera

Method: A rapid review was conducted following the principles of rapid reviews and systematic reviews. Three electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar) were used to extract literature for the review. Studies of heterogeneous study design were included in this review, provided they met the inclusion criteria. The inclusion criteria consisted of qualitative and quantitative studies conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on WASH interventions to prevent and control cholera and diarrhea. The review included studies conducted in any setting from 2012 to April 2023. Systematic reviews, scoping reviews, protocols, reports, and opinions were excluded from the review.

Results: After the identification, screening, and inclusion process, a total of 9 studies out of 96 were included in this review. Among the 9 studies, there was 1 qualitative study, 5 quantitative studies (including prospective studies, unmatched case-control studies, cross-sectional studies, and statistical modeling), and 3 randomized controlled trials. Regarding the interventions examined, 2 studies implemented hand washing with soap as a WASH intervention, 1 study focused on water treatment, 1 study emphasized Community-Led Total Sanitation, 2 studies focused on WASH behavior change, 2 studies examined health education on WASH, and 1 study explored the combination of WASH and cholera vaccination. The review found that the WASH interventions implemented in all the studies were effective in preventing and controlling cholera and diarrhea especially with regards to hand washing.

Conclusion: Emphasizing hand washing with soap is crucial, as it serves as a comprehensive measure to prevent person-to-person transmission, contamination of food, and household water. This sets handwashing apart from other WASH interventions like water treatment and Community-Led Total Sanitation, which may not address these specific modes of transmission.