To Assess Challenges and Opportunities in Enhancing Access to Adequate, Safe and Affordable Watsan Services in District Peshawar: The Role of Local Government
Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the challenges and opportunities in access to improved water and sanitation (WatSan) services, the effects of unsafe WatSan services on the health of the population (adult and children under-five), and the prospects of revenue generation from improved WatSan services in Pakistan. The study is based on novel data collected from 278 households - selected using proportionate random sampling technique - across three village councils (VC), namely Arbaban, Nothia Qadeem-I and Achar-II, of district Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KP) of Pakistan. Data were collected from households and government officials using two separate questionnaires. The descriptive analysis shows that people in the research area used various sources of potable water such as government sponsored water supply and sanitation programme (WSSP) (76.7%), bore-sourced drinking water (12.5%), and public health department services (10.8%). As many as 91.7% respondents reported occurrence of water-borne diseases in their households in the last six months and 12.5% reported under-five mortality in their households. Furthermore, the respondents in the research area were aware about the importance of safe sanitation However, the health effects of unsafe WatSan services were separately determined for adult population as well as children under-five by using chi-square tests of independence. The study also concludes that despite the existence of a number of issues in access to improved WatSan services, consumers were willing to pay for improved services. The policy implications of the study is that In order to close the communication gap between consumers and policymakers, this study advises practitioners in the local government department and WSSP should develop programs and strategies for provision of safe WatSan services in the study area.
Copyright Notice Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher. The Editors reserve the right to edit or otherwise alter all contributions, but authors will receive proofs for approval before publication. Copyrights for articles published in IJSSA journal are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author’s responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.