“Untapped Connections”: The Impact of Water (In) Accessibility and Distant Water Collection on Women’s Health and Livelihoods in Rural Northern Ghana
Date
2024-08-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
0000-0002-5503-3200
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
Doctoral
Abstract
In sub-Saharan Africa, access to safely managed water remains low, particularly for rural residents who predominantly rely on decentralized water systems. The issue is exacerbated by the prevalence of non-functional and unsustainable hand pumps, compounding the chronic water challenges in rural areas. Access to safely managed water is a pressing concern connected with gender dynamics and power imbalances, closely linked to the socially constructed roles assigned to women in patriarchal African cultures and societies. This emphasizes the gendered and intersectional implications of water inaccessibility and distant water collection for rural women. However, scholarship examining the gendered experiences and consequences of women’s water collection responsibility remains limited, particularly in Ghana, where water inaccessibility is a longstanding issue. Inadequate empirical research on critical aspects of water (in)accessibility and distant water collection could create missing links to advancing knowledge on and addressing the gender dimensions of water insecurity in diverse sociocultural and economic settings. This thesis aimed to address research gaps and advance knowledge by investigating the impact of water inaccessibility and distant water collection on the health and livelihoods of women in rural northern Ghana.
The research began by developing a comprehensive conceptual framework through a systematic review of the literature on water access and collection, focusing on gender and climate considerations aimed at alleviating water inaccessibility in rural sub-Saharan Africa. This work emphasized the reciprocal linkages between drivers (environmental, systemic, and individual factors) of water (in)accessibility, and the ensuing consequences (health, safety, nutritional, hygiene, and economic risks), and coping strategies (exit, loyalty, and voice or collective action) as well as the feedback loops that sustain water inaccessibility and exacerbate difficulties in water acquisition. Building upon this framework, Ghana’s 2014 Demographic and Health Survey was combined with meteorological records (1991-2021) and relationships were explored through binary logistic regression to explore and understand factors influencing the spatiotemporal dynamics of access to improved water sources among Ghanaian households. Results from the multivariable regression analyses revealed significant access inequalities influenced by intersecting environmental, systemic, and individual factors. Critical environmental factors showed that a unit increase in average rainfall range [OR 1.012; 95% CI (1.005 – 1.019)] was associated with improved water sources, as were urban residents [OR 1.469; 95% CI (1.233 – 1.750)]. Essential systemic factors revealed that high-income households [OR 6.875; 95% CI (5.748 – 8.223)] had far higher odds of accessing improved water sources. Critical individual factors showed that higher education levels [OR 1.212; 95% CI (1.069-1.373)] and smaller household size [OR 1.461; 95% CI (1.191 - 1.793)] associated better with access to improved water sources.
Building upon the groundwork laid by these broader regional and national studies and considering women’s water collection responsibility in patriarchal African cultures, a case study was carried out within the Kologo rural community of Ghana to explore women’s experiences collecting water off premises. This study involved surveys and focus group conversations, engaging an equal number of women and men to interrogate factors underlying women’s challenges when collecting water, the health and economic impacts of this responsibility, and the various strategies women employ to address inadequate water access. Key findings from the statistical and thematic analyses revealed overlapping factors in women’s water collection difficulties, including distance to water sources, seasonality, poverty, limited water facilities, and health issues. These factors exposed more than half of the women to complex deleterious consequences spanning physical and psychological injuries (>80%), animal attacks (≤12%), spousal violence (>40%), nutritional challenges (>30%), hygiene problems (>40%), and socioeconomic issues (>50%). Over half of the women encountered three to seven intersecting water-related problems, which disempowered them and created feedback loops that perpetuate water insecurity and exacerbate their difficulties in water acquisition. In response, these women employed exit (alternative water sources, purchasing water, collaborative sharing), loyalty (storage, conservation, treatment), and voice (community-driven actions, complaints to authorities) strategies to address access challenges simultaneously or interchangeably. However, specific coping mechanisms can be ineffective and even detrimental long-term, highlighting the double burden of enduring persistent water inaccessibility.
The significance of this research lies in its ability to illustrate how water inaccessibility, distant water collection, and entrenched gender norms intersect, leading to ripple effects on women's health and well-being. This study contributes to the ongoing discourse on the gender dimensions of water access and water collection responsibilities. The potential impact of this research extends beyond academia. By employing a multifaceted approach that enhances our understanding of the complexity and intersection of factors influencing rural women's water access challenges and coping strategies, this study sheds light on the multidimensional public health and socioeconomic challenges stemming from water insecurity and distant water collection. It underscores the urgent need for action, urging governments, policymakers, and stakeholders to prioritize initiatives to improve water security in rural areas and mitigate gender-related risks. It highlights the disproportionate burden placed on rural women due to deeply entrenched gender norms, underscoring the imperative to challenge and transforms these norms to promote a more equitable distribution of responsibilities and alleviate the burden on women.
Furthermore, this research advocates for innovative methods beyond conventional approaches to gather robust, evidence-based insights to engage policymakers to improve equitable water access effectively. While this study provides insights into the water-collection experiences of women in a specific locality, its findings hold the potential to inspire broader ideas, approaches, and actions. The studies emphasize the importance of integrated, cross-sectional approaches. Combining local community engagement strategies with understanding environmental, systemic, and individual factors highlighted at regional and national levels can create comprehensive strategies for diverse settings. This may include implementing comprehensive policies and frameworks beyond infrastructure development, incorporating community participation and accounting for socioeconomic and cultural contexts to ensure sustainable water improvements. This will be a crucial step toward promoting gender equity in water access, safeguarding the fundamental right to safe water, and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goals 6 (clean water and sanitation), 5 (gender equality), and 3 (good health and well-being). Overall, this study brings attention to the ongoing water insecurity in rural areas, calling on governments and policymakers to address sociocultural norms and power structures and the multifaceted factors influencing access through effective and gendered water management and planning in patriarchal African cultures and societies.
Description
Keywords
SDGs, SDG 6: clean water and sanitation, SDG 5: gender equality, SDG 3: good health and well-being, gender, water access, water collection, water fetching, women, Africa, Ghana, Upper East Region, Kologo, Kassena-Nankana East Municipality, factors, consequences, coping strategies, coupled systems framework, rural areas
Citation
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Department
Geography and Planning
Program
Geography