Impediments to Accessing Household Sanitation Facilities amongst Low-Income Urban Residents in Naivasha Town, Nakuru County, Kenya

Abstract

Population growth and poverty, most often in urban and peri-urban areas of developing countries continue to hinder efforts towards improving sanitation coverage. A large number of urban residents in Africa live in settlements served by inadequate sanitation facilities. In Kenya, more than 8 million people live in urban low-income areas with low access to appropriate sanitation. Many studies have been conducted to investigate challenges to improved sanitation in large cities in Africa, however, limited information still exists about sanitation access challenges in small but growing urban low-income settlements. The study sought to assess impediments to provision of household sanitation facilities in Nakuru. The study adopted cross-sectional analytical study design targeting 370 residents in randomly selected households. Mixed data collection methods were used to solicit information on the household socio-demographic profile, credit access levels, sanitation regulation and household willingness to pay for improved sanitation. Descriptive statistics were computed to display the frequency distribution of household socio-demographic variables. SPSS version 23 was used to store and analyse data. Chi-square and ANOVA tests were conducted to infer an association between the independent variables (access to credit facilities, household income and education level, occupancy, and compliance to regulation) and the outcome variable (improved household onsite sanitation). More than half 60% (222) of the respondents were earning less than ten thousand Kenyan shillings a month, while 73% were tenant households. Another 62% of those interviewed knew sanitation-related credit sources and just less than half (31%) had benefited from the credit facilities. There was an association between household characteristics and status of household sanitation facility used; education ( 2 =32.483, df =1, p<0.05), income (F=9.495, df = 2, p<0.05), willingness to pay ( 2 = 9.25, p<0.005, df =3) and tenancy ( 2 = 10.619, df =1, p<0.05).Further statistical association was noted between access to sanitation credit (2 = 16.22, df =1, p<0.05) and status of sanitation. Perception of compliance to sanitation regulation standards (2 = 11.76, df = 3, p<0.05) and status of household sanitation was equally significant at 95% level of confidence. The findings highlight the need for targeted, attractive, and affordable sanitation financing and regulatory alternatives for low-income households in Naivasha Town. There is a need for local governments to review or package onsite sanitation regulations targeting low-income households to suit their socio-economic situations and encourage compliance by offering incentives to low-income household sanitation financing.