Water and Sanitation Provision and its Effects on Poor Women: The Case of Selected Neighbourhoods in Addis Ababa
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Date
2007-07
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This study, by taking the case of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, investigates the
effects of water and sanitation provision on poor women. The study was instigated by
the observation that the pressure of inadequate water supply and sanitation provision fall
more on the poor than better offs; and among the poor, the problems are intense on
women due to biological, economic and socio- cultural factors.
In order to thoroughly examine water supply and sanitation issues affecting poor women
in the Addis Ababa context, relevant primary and secondary data were generated and
personal observations were made and analyzed. Three poor neighbourhoods (two from
the inner-city slums and one from the informal settlements) were identified as case
study areas and 120 poor women were selected through a multi-stage sampling method.
Major findings of the study indicate that in the city in general and in the studied
neighborhoods in particular unavailability of water and sanitation at the required
quantity, place, affordability, accessibility and safety has been strongly affecting the
lives of poor women. It shows that these interrelated effects highly influence the health,
income, privacy, dignity, security, social status of poor women including the time they
can use for self improvement.
As the effects are multiple so are the causes. The results of this study show that the roots
causes are related to the socio-economic status of women including the rigid gender
division of labour, inadequate access to economic resources and poor decision making
power. These coupled with failure to implement the nationally declared gender and
poverty policies as well as gender mainstreaming strategies made women arguably the
most deprived in human as well as economic terms.
The study concludes that water and sanitation, which is one of the most important
development challenges facing Addis Ababa, has been affecting the lives of the poorest
of the poor who live in the ill serviced slums and squatter settlements. So, action to
improve water and sanitation situation is an important step to enable the poor people in
general and poor women in particular to escape poverty.
To escape from poverty, among other things, poor women need to be empowered. To
achieve this goal, economic growth and financial resources are of course necessary, but
they are not enough. This study suggests that by adopting an integrated and multisectored approach, by putting poor women’s needs at the center of water and sanitation service provisions and by enabling them to take part in the decision making and priority setting process it is possible to make a difference
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Gender Studies