scholarly journals The pain of water: a household perspective of water insecurity and inequity in the Kathmandu Valley

Water Policy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (S1) ◽  
pp. 130-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia C. Molden ◽  
Anoj Khanal ◽  
Nita Pradhan
Keyword(s):  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Monsoon Season ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Kathmandu Valley ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Household Water ◽  
Household Members

Abstract This paper draws on participatory research with 47 household water managers over the dry, pre-monsoon, and monsoon season, alongside expert knowledge of water management in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. Doing so, it presents the perspectives of water managers to highlight three dimensions of water security that existing approaches often overlook. First, experiences of water security vary greatly between households over the year, even within a relatively small geographic area. Second, social connections and landownership play an important role in mediating these experiences. Third, coping with poor water supply places a burden on certain household members. This paper argues that addressing water inequities and insecurities demands research, development and policy responses to look beyond the main pipe network and engage with the variety of ways in which households secure water.

Handwashing and water security in the context of a pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Hannah ◽  
Iseult Lynch ◽  
Feng Mao ◽  
Joshua D. Miller ◽  
Sera L. Young ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hand Hygiene ◽  
Behavioural Change ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Sanitation And Hygiene ◽  
Household Water ◽  
Sustainable Development Goal 6

<p>The COVID-19 pandemic is a wake-up call for water security issues. It makes us acutely aware how crucial access, and ability, for adequate hand hygiene are for reducing transmission risks of communicable diseases. An estimated 40% of households globally lack access to basic handwashing facilities. A recent cross-cultural study of household water insecurity experiences (HWISE) found that nearly one in four of 6,637 randomly sampled households across 23 sites in 20 low- and middle-income countries. Similar water, sanitation and hygiene problems impact on poorer families in high-income nations too.</p><p>We explore the challenge of hand hygiene in a changing water world and reflect on the importance of making rapid progress towards “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” (UN Sustainable Development Goal 6). We contest that urgent action on water security is essential to better prepare societies for the future, including global health crises. Drawing on the latest evidence, we provide recommendations on how to increase handwashing, and improve human health and wellbeing more broadly, by reducing water insecurity. Across our world, policymakers must focus on: investment in water infrastructure, water independent alternatives, and behavioural change and knowledge promotion. Moreover, we must prioritise holistic, evidence-based solutions that address 3 facets of water (in)security: availability, quality & accessibility.</p>

scholarly journals Household water insecurity, depression and quality of life among postnatal women living in urban Nepal

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 317-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoko Aihara ◽  
Salina Shrestha ◽  
Jyoti Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Total Score Range ◽  
Household Water ◽  
Postnatal Women ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related

Objectives: This observational study aimed to assess distress related to the household water supply and to examine the relationship between household water insecurity and psychological health among Nepali postnatal women. Methods: In total, 300 women consented to participate in the study, of which 267 women were able to participate in a follow-up 1 month after discharge. We developed a household water insecurity scale (HWIS; total score range 0–24 points) by adapting the household food insecurity access scale. Results: The Cronbach's coefficient alpha for the HWIS was moderately acceptable. Psychological health was assessed in terms of postnatal depression and physical health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The median score of the HWIS was 8, and more than 60% of the participants answered that they sometimes or often worried about not having enough water, used only small amounts of water, had a lack of hygiene, and had insufficient time for childrearing. Multiple regression models showed that women with high levels of stress derived from household water insecurity had greater odds of probable depression and lower physical HRQOL scores than did women with low HWIS scores. Conclusion: The results suggest that improving water security is necessary to foster maternal psychological health in developing countries.

When water is scarce: the perception of water quality and effects on the vulnerable

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamdiyah Alhassan ◽  
Paul Adjei Kwakwa
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Water Source ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Household Water ◽  
Women And Children

The world has over 1 billion people without access to safe drinking water and it is expected that the number of people living in water-stressed or water-scarce places will increase to 3.4 billion by 2025 and one cannot ignore the effect such a situation will have on the vulnerable groups. The current study among other things examines household water insecurity and assesses its impact on vulnerable groups especially women and children in Dungu, a rural community in the northern region of Ghana. Relying on 125 respondents sampled, the findings show that the main source of drinking water in the community, a dam, fails to fulfil the household water security situation with respect to quantity, quality, reliability and accessibility. Because of the unwholesome nature of the water, the majority of the respondents treat water by using cloth filtering, boiling and the use of alum. Contentiously, the insecurity of water in the community has numerous negative effects ranging from health to economic effects on women and children who have to walk for 2 km in search of water and this could be reduced with the availability of a good quality water source close to home.

scholarly journals Impact of Extreme Drought Climate on Water Security in North Borneo: Case Study of Sabah

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1135
Author(s):  
Carolyn Payus ◽  
Lim Ann Huey ◽  
Farrah Adnan ◽  
Andi Besse Rimba ◽  
Geetha Mohan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Extreme Drought ◽  
Northeast Monsoon ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
The North ◽  
North Borneo

For countries in Southeast Asia that mainly rely on surface water as their water resource, changes in weather patterns and hydrological systems due to climate change will cause severely decreased water resource availability. Warm weather triggers more water use and exacerbates the extraction of water resources, which will change the operation patterns of water usage and increase demand, resulting in water scarcity. The occurrence of prolonged drought upsets the balance between water supply and demand, significantly increasing the vulnerability of regions to damaging impacts. The objectives of this study are to identify trends and determine the impacts of extreme drought events on water levels for the major important water dams in the northern part of Borneo, and to assess the risk of water insecurity for the dams. In this context, remote sensing images are used to determine the degree of risk of water insecurity in the regions. Statistical methods are used in the analysis of daily water levels and rainfall data. The findings show that water levels in dams on the North and Northeast Coasts of Borneo are greatly affected by the extreme drought climate caused by the Northeast Monsoon, with mild to the high risk recorded in terms of water insecurity, with only two of the water dams being water-secure. This study shows how climate change has affected water availability throughout the regions.

scholarly journals A novel household water insecurity scale: Procedures and psychometric analysis among postpartum women in western Kenya

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. e0198591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Godfred O. Boateng ◽  
Shalean M. Collins ◽  
Patrick Mbullo ◽  
Pauline Wekesa ◽  
Maricianah Onono ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychometric Analysis ◽  
Postpartum Women ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Western Kenya ◽  
Household Water

scholarly journals A Qualitative Exploration in Causes of Water Insecurity Experiences, and Gender and Nutritional Consequences in South-Punjab, Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (23) ◽  
pp. 12534
Author(s):  
Farooq Ahmed ◽  
Muhammad Shahid ◽  
Yang Cao ◽  
Madeeha Gohar Qureshi ◽  
Sidra Zia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Health And Nutrition ◽  
Punjab Province ◽  
Household Water ◽  
Optimal Health ◽  
Victims Of Violence ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Qualitative Exploration

Although water insecurity has been discussed in general, its impacts on mothers’ physical and mental health, and infants’ and young children’s feeding (IYCF), has largely been ignored. This study explores household water insecurity experiences and their association with optimal health and nutrition of women and children in the Rajanpur district of Punjab Province. Using focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informants (KIIs) interviews from an area with high maternal-child malnutrition prevalence, a qualitative study was conducted to describe local experiences of water acquirement and arrangement, and of the consequences of water insecurity. The findings highlight that rural Western marginalized populations of the Rajanpur district rely on brackish, canal, or flood surface water as the water supply is absent, which intensifies mothers’ work burden and stress, and often makes them victims of violence, stigma, and sickness. Water fetching impacts women in unforeseen ways, impacting the psychosocial and physical health of mothers engaged in maternal breastfeeding. Water insecurity, originally rooted in regional disparities, compounds with gender inequities, which leads to maternal stress and child sickness. Justice in water resources is imperative and urgent in the deprived South of Punjab province for improving public health nutrition.

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