| dc.description.abstract | Rapid urban growth in a climate of economic constraints has resulted into majority of residents in African large cities and an increasing proportion of Africa overally living in slums and shanty towns .In these shanty towns, health conditions and livelihood opportunities are poor. The situation in Kenya is similar to other situations in Africa. The lack of access to water and sanitation facilities is one of the largest hindrances to towards sustainable development for the poorest 2.2 billion people in the world. The millennium development goals outlines various targets for improving living conditions in less developed countries around the world; one target is to reduce by half the number of people in the world without access to reasonable access to water by 20IS.The world health organization defines the term reasonable access as availability of at least 20 litres per person per day(L/capita-day) from a source within 1 kilometer of the users dwellings however this in most cases is contrary to many.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors influencing safe water access in Bandani Slum of Kisumu municipality the study was guided by the following objectives ;To investigate the influence of water sources and proximity distances on the accessibility of safe water in Bandani, To determine the influence of operation and management of existing water facilities on the accessibility of safe water ,To examine the influence of sanitation and hygiene practices on safe water and health and also to establish the extent of water vending as an alternative safe water accessibility in Bandani slum. The research report presents literature that relates to the four themes.
This study adopted descriptive survey design.A sample size of 298 Households out of the available 5,164 was considered for this study using purposive sampling method, questionnaires were administered to the targeted households to investigate on the factor that are perceived to have an influence on the accessibility of safe water access in Bandani slum. The reliability of the research instrument was tested using pearson correlation coefficient. The data was then arranged, coded and analysed using computerized based prograrnme(SPSS).A report was then written based on the findings .The·findings of this study concluded that the per capita water consumption of more than 75% of the residents is 21.9SlIc/d which is far much less than the minimum basic requirement of SOllc/d.The main source of water supply in Bandani is municipal water points which are few to cope up with the population thus during peak hours, one can wait at the source for 2-3hrs before collecting water.
Operation and management of the existing water supplies was noted as an issue, respondents complained of frequent interruption of the water supply with low pressure noted during peak hours. Majority believes the population is overstretching the existing water facilities hence those responsible for water supply in the area should establish many water kiosks in the area to cope up with the larger population. The study also noted that there is poor sanitation in Bandani due to limited latrines hence people particularly children end up to orthodox means of helping themselves like open defecation which has great impact in the contamination of ground water. In some cases water holes/points sources used by the residents were located at a closer interval to the latrines, this exposes such people to water related infection due to the usage of water contaminated by feaca1 coliform .
Sensitization on hygiene promotion is therefore required. Also noted was poor solid waste management as there is no municipal dump site, the waste is therefore haphazardly thrown a way which in the long ran can result to ground water pollution. The study also noted Water vending is an upcoming alternative water source in the area .This study recommends that stakeholders and NGOs dealing with water supplies and hygiene promotion to make serious interventions in Bandani, Accordingly the researcher recommends a comparative study to be conducted in Manyatta, Obunga and Nyawita of Kisumu municipality | en_US |
