Abstract
Lack of access to potable water and good sanitation is still one of the most challenging public health concerns of the twenty-first century despite steady progress over recent decades. Almost a billion people globally lack access to safe water; over two billion live without adequate sanitation facilities. The challenge is even more daunting for Sub-Saharan Africa where coverage levels for both potable water and sanitation remain critically low. The urgent need to address the issue calls for adequate understanding of the socio-economic dimensions. Using the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, we investigated the socio-economic and demographic factors associated with access to potable water and improved sanitation facilities. Our generalized linear models reveal that income, education, household size, and region are significant predictors of improved water and sanitation access. Our discussion and conclusion sections highlight the implications of the study results for water policy formulation and implementation in Ghana, and broadly for other developing countries.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Demographic and Health Surveys is a USAID project responsible for collecting multiple indicator surveys on health and population in developing countries. For Ghana, the 2008 report is the most current data available.
References
Abebaw, D., Tadesse, F., & Mogues, T. (2011). Access to improved water source and satisfaction with services. Evidence from rural Ethiopia: The international food policy research institute.
Akple, M., Keraita, B., Konradsen, F., & Agbenowu, E. (2011). Microbiological quality of water from hand-dug wells used for domestic purposes in urban communities in Kumasi Ghana. Urban Water Journal, 8(1), 57–64.
Atipoka, F. A. (2009). Water supply challenges in rural Ghana. Desalination, 248, 212–217.
Awuah, E., Nyarko, K., & Owusu, P. (2009). Water and sanitation in Ghana. Desalination, 248, 460–467.
Boateng, G. O., Kuuire, V. Z., Ung, M., Amoyaw, J. A., Armah, F. A., & Luginaah, I. (2014). Women’s empowerment in the context of millennium development goal 3: A case study of married women in Ghana. Social Indicators Research, 115(1), 137–158.
Boateng, D., Tia-Adjei, M., & Adams, E. A. (2013). Determinants of household water quality in the Tamale Metropolis, Ghana. Journal of Environment and Earth Science, 3, 70–77.
Buttel, F. M., & Flinn, W. L. (1978). The politics of environmental concern the impacts of party identification and political ideology on environmental attitudes. Environment and Behavior, 10, 17–36.
Cosgrove, W. J., & Rijsberman, F. R. (2014). World water vision: making water everybody’s business. World Water Council. Earthscan from Routledge.
Dunlap, R. E., Xiao, C., & McCright, A. M. (2001). Politics and environment in America: Partisan and ideological cleavages in public support for environmentalism. Environmental Politics, 10, 23–48.
Garriga, R. G., & Foguet, A. P. (2013). Unravelling the linkages between water, sanitation, hygiene and rural poverty: The WASH poverty index. Water Resources Management, 27(5), 1501–1515.
Ghana Statistical Service. (2009). Demographic and health survey. http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pdf/FR221/FR221%5B13Aug2012%5D.pdf. Accessed January 10, 2014
Gleick, P. H. (Ed.). (2014). The world’s water volume 8: The biennial report on freshwater resource (Vol. 8) Island Press.
Hunter, P. R., Zmirou-Navier, D., & Hartemann, P. (2009). Estimating the impact on health of poor reliability of drinking water interventions in developing countries. Science of the Total Environment, 407, 2621–2624.
Hutton, G., Haller, L., & Bartram, J. (2007). Global cost-benefit analysis of water supply and sanitation interventions. Journal of Water and Health, 5, 481–501.
Jalan, J., & Ravallion, M. (2003). Does piped water reduce diarrhea for children in rural India? Journal of econometrics, 112, 153–173.
Joshi, A., Prasad, S., Kasav, J. B., Segan, M., & Singh, A. K. (2013). Water and sanitation hygiene knowledge attitude practice in urban slum settings. Global Journal of Health Science, 6(2), 23.
Keshavarzi, A. R., Sharifzadeh, M., Kamgar, A. A., Amin, S., Keshtkar, S., & Bamdad, A. (2006). Rural domestic water consumption behavior: A case study in Ramjerd area, Fars province, IR Iran. Water research, 40(6), 1173–1178.
Larson, B., Minten, B., & Razafindralambo, R. (2006). Unravelling the linkages between the millennium development goals for poverty, education, access to water and household water use in developing countries: evidence from Madagascar. The Journal of Development Studies, 42, 22–40.
Rahman, P. M. M., Matsui, N., & Ikemoto, Y. (2013). Changes in access to assets. In Dynamics of poverty in rural Bangladesh (pp. 123–137). Japan: Springer.
Seager, J. (2010). Gender and water: Good rhetoric, but it doesn’t “count”. Geoforum, 41, 1–3.
Sivakumar, B. (2011). Global climate change and its impacts on water resources planning and management: assessment and challenges. Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, 25(4), 583–600.
Sobsey, M. D., Stauber, C. E., Casanova, L. M., Brown, J. M., & Elliott, M. A. (2008). Point of use household drinking water filtration: a practical, effective solution for providing sustained access to safe drinking water in the developing world. Environmental Science and Technology, 42, 4261–4267.
Teixeira, J. C., Gomes, M. H. R., & De Souza, J. A. (2012). Association between sanitation services coverage and epidemiological indicators in Latin America: A study with secondary data. Publica/Pan American Journal of Public Health, 32, 419–425.
Tiwari, R., & Nayak, S. (2013). Drinking water and sanitation in Uttar Pradesh: A regional analysis. Journal of Rural Development, 32, 61–74.
Tumwine, J. K., Thompson, J., Katua-Katua, M., Mujwajuzi, M., Johnstone, N., Wood, E., & Porras, I. (2002). Diarrhoea and effects of different water sources, sanitation and hygiene behaviour in East Africa. Tropical Medicine and International Health, 7, 750–756.
UN JMP. (2013). Progress on sanitation and drinking water. http://www.wssinfo.org/. Accessed February 10, 2014
UNICEF. (2013). Water, sanitation, and hygiene. http://www.unicef.org/wash/index_43106.html. Accessed November 26, 2013
Waldman, R. J., Mintz, E. D., & Papowitz, H. E. (2013). The cure for cholera—Improving access to safe water and sanitation. New England Journal of Medicine, 368(7), 592–594.
WHO. (2013). Levels and trends in child mortality. http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/documents/levels_trends_child_mortality_2013/en/. Accessed December 1, 2013
WHO. (2014). Progress on drinking water and sanitation. 2014 update.http://www.unwater.org/publications/publications-detail/en/c/231531/. Accessed September 8, 2014
WSMP. (2009). Status of Ghana’s drinking water and sanitation sector. http://www.wsmp.org/downloads/country-summary-sheet-09.pdf. Accessed January 31, 2014
WSP. (2010). Economic impacts of poor sanitation in Africa. http://www.wsp.org/sites/wsp.org/files/publications/WSP-ESI-Ghana-brochure.pdf. Accessed January 31, 2014
Yang, H., Bain, R., Bartram, J., Gundry, S., Pedley, S., & Wright, J. (2013). Water safety and inequality in access to drinking-water between rich and poor households. Environmental Science and Technology, 47(3), 1222–1230.
Yap, G. (2007). Kampala’s urban poor gain clean water and good sanitation. Appropriate Technology, 34, 50–52.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Adams, E.A., Boateng, G.O. & Amoyaw, J.A. Socioeconomic and Demographic Predictors of Potable Water and Sanitation Access in Ghana. Soc Indic Res 126, 673–687 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-0912-y
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-0912-y