COVID-19 Impacts on Water Burden among Households in Turkana

Abstract

This research was carried out through household interviews in the water diaries study, key informant interviews involving a range of stakeholders involved in water, health, and sanitation sectors in the county, and secondary data from media, government institutions, and water sector development partners working in Turkana. It was complemented with results from the REACH Kenya Programme, based at the Institute for Climate Change and Adaptation. The study assessed respondent views on the impact of the pandemic on water security and its burden on households. It also established possible solutions to the risks faced by communities in Turkana. The REACH Programme implemented a household survey in Turkana Central in October 2017 and established that from 909 household heads, 25% were concerned that water is costly and 36% relied on river water as a secondary source. The study further established that the number of poor households with non-piped water was three times more than the nonpoor households with piped water connections. The majority of households, therefore, had to rely on water kiosks, boreholes with hand pumps, neighbours, and the dry riverbed-scooping as their main sources. Furthermore, the study established that the number of poor households using surface water as their main source was almost four times more than the non-poor ones. This means that such households are exposed to risks including waterborne diseases and water access issues. This situation is worsened by open defecation which is a major problem in the region and poses a threat to surface water quality. The water, health, and sanitation situations have further been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic which has likely increased household water demand as more frequent hand washing is advocated for. This increased demand increases the vulnerability of poor households in semi-arid urban and pastoral areas to water insecurity and health challenges. Therefore, the current pandemic is a critical wake-up call to all the stakeholders in the water sector to rethink strategies that protect vulnerable community members not only from the usual water-borne diseases but also from other deadly viral pandemics such as COVID-19