A Software Engineering Approach to Implementation of SDG 6 in Adum-Aiona Community of Nigeria

Okewu, Emmanuel; Misra, Sanjay; Lius, Fernandez-Sanz

In this work, we adopt an engineering problem-solving approach to the open-air defecation health problem. We model social and behaviour change communication intervention among other components of a water-sanitation-hygiene (WASH) system in response to the menace of open defecation in rural and urban communities globally. We also used experimental outcomes to show empirically that patterns in data captured in the WASH process could be learnt for effective decision making using deep learning neural networks as an intelligent software engineering technique. Eradicating open defecation is one of the indicators used for measuring progress made towards the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6). We use the Adum-Aiona community in Nigeria as case study in designing community-based total sanitation programs using software model-driven engineering approaches with the aim of promoting their implementation. This is because even when toilets and other sanitary infrastructure are available, behavior and social change efforts are needed to promote their large-scale use. Also, we demonstrate that besides being used to model software systems, computational models (software architecture) are useful in documenting and promoting understanding of concepts in virtually all fields of human endeavour. Our motivation is that enhancing understanding of open defecation through software modelling would help SDG 6 implementors and actors attain set sanitation goals in both rural and urban communities towards the SDGs target year 2030.