Accessing water in urban areas is harder than in rural areas, a report released yesterday has shown. The survey by Twaweza East Africa indicates that more people living in cities are currently struggling to access the precious commodity compared to 1990.
This is attributed to the increased rural-urban migration which the infrastructure has been unable to keep pace with. As Kenya marks World Water Day today, the government has been urged to concentrate on the provision of clean water in the cities.
“Someone somewhere along the way will have to bear that cost to ensure that Kenya’s poor are not just left scrapping in the muck for dirty water that will cost them more in the long run,” said Twaweza senior programmme officer Victor Rateng’.
The recent findings show that 62 per cent of rural Kenyans have access to an improved water source compared to 78 per cent of those living in urban areas. In 1990, the data indicate that urban areas had 90 per cent access while that in rural stood at 35 per cent.
“However, One oin four (26 per cent) spend at least one hour collecting water compared to one in 10 (12 per cent) in urban areas,” said the report. He further said that in 92 per cent of households, women and children bear the burden of water collection at 71 per cent and 21 per cent respectively. “This means that the girl child is denied time to do their school work negatively impacting on their performance,” he added.
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