Access to Safe and Sustainable Domestic Water and Sanitation Services in Emerging Slums in Kenya : a Case Study of Majengo Area in Narok Town

Abstract

Water and sanitation are key aspects of human development. For poor people, access to water and sanitation is a pre-requisite to achieving a minimum standard of health and undertaking productive activities. Although there is more than enough water in the world to meet domestic, agricultural and industrial needs, some billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and billion lack basic sanitation. An adequate supply of clean water and proper sanitation would mean that poor households do not pay as much as they do for the little water they use. There would be a reduction in, not only morbidity and mortality caused by water-borne diseases, but also individual health care costs and lost earnings related to poor health, thus reducing poverty and malnutrition levels. It would also reduce gender inequality and empower women who often spend a lot of time walking long distances and waiting in queues to fetch water. The level of access to safe water and sanitation is determined by a number of factors, among them; type of water source/sanitation facility, distance to the water source/sanitation facility, poverty and water pricing policies. The provision of water and sanitation services falls within the Service Delivery Framework. Currently, Kenya is implementing the Transaction-Intensive Services Framework, a Down-Up Approach formulated by the World Bank. It empowers citizens to demand services rather than being passive service consumers. If well implemented, this framework would ensure supply of adequate water and safe sanitation to all and more specifically to low-income populations. This household survey, which focused on Majengo, a low income area of Narok Town, was explorative in nature. Its main aim was to assess the level of access to safe water and sanitation and the prevalence of water-borne diseases.