Methodological Evaluation of Water Treatment Facilities in Senegal Using Panel Data for Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

Water treatment facilities are critical for ensuring safe drinking water in Senegal's rural communities. A cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted using a fixed effects regression model to estimate the impact of various water treatment technologies on reducing disease incidence among rural populations in Senegal. The model is represented as: Yᵢₜ = eta₀ + eta₁Xᵢₜ + uᵢ where Yᵢₜ is the health outcome (e.g., reduction in diarrheal diseases), Xᵢₜ represents treatment system type, and uᵢ accounts for unobserved heterogeneity across regions. The analysis revealed that solar disinfection systems showed a significant reduction in disease incidence compared to traditional methods by 20% with a statistically robust confidence interval (95%). This study provides evidence on the cost-effectiveness of different water treatment technologies, contributing to sustainable public health interventions in Senegal. Policy recommendations include prioritising solar disinfection systems for their superior cost-effectiveness and scalability across diverse rural settings.