Assessing water security and urban poverty linkages : a case study of Mathare informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya

Sammanfattning: Water has various multiple uses not only in the household but also globally, this therefore means that ensuring water security is very vital. Even though water is a basic need for the household, the poor who are highly represented in the urban informal settlement are faced with multiple challenges to accessing water. The researcher was guided by two research question that aimed to find out the economic, social and cultural impact of water accessibility on the livelihood of the residents in Mathare village 1 particularly the women and how the access to water affects the health of the residents. The data was collected through observation, document analysis and face to face interviews using open ended interview schedules. Though illegally connected, Mathare village one has available water, which is sold by water vendors and no water rationing takes place in this place. However, water availability is not a guarantee of water accessibility. The urban rich access water easily while the poor have income hindrance to the accessing water. Due to poor connections at times the water is mixed by sewage hence making it to be unsafe for human consumption and which in turn is a health threat to the residents. The household can only acquire water that they are able to buy and store in their houses, hence economic capability of the urban poor has a great impact of their accessibility to water. Urban poverty is multifaceted and intergenerational and improving a person's income is not a guarantee of improvement in security or environment pollution. The women gender are the most affected not only by water security since they take care of the household ,but also poverty in the urban area. On the other hand, though poverty is widespread in informal settlements, not all the women who live in Mathare village 1 are poor, but those who depend on their husbands and sons for income are indeed poor. Dependency is the worst form of poverty it delimits ones choice, urgency and freedom to diversify. To improve water accessibility in the informal settlement might require government presence in the planning of water provision and putting in place poverty eradication strategies. The women must also be on the forefront in standing up for their rights for them to see real change occur.