II. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Water and Poverty
Water shortage, poor water quality, or unreliable supply has profound effects on people‟s well-being. Improved access to safe and affordable water
supply and sanitation is an essential component to strengthen the international commitment to meet the international poverty elimination targets DFID, 2000;
White Paper on International Development; UNDP, 2010. Lack of water is a determinant of poverty. The fulfilment of poor people‟s
water-related needs is fundamental to the elimination of poverty DFID, 2000; Francis et al. 2001. At household level water is essential for a number of
activities ranging from kitchen to bathing as well as small scale income generation. Water delivered to fulfil basic needs for drinking, cooking, hygiene
and production of subsistence food should be a priority, affordable to households with the lowest income levels, many of which are female headed. In order to
eradicate poverty, improvement in provision of water required. Water‟s main contribution to economic wellbeing is through its use for
agriculture in order to improve food security. There is a positive, albeit complex, link between water services for irrigation and other farm use, poverty alleviation
and food security. Access to water for agriculture can boost the yield of the main wet-season crop; secure extra dry-season crops, and enable the timing of
production to match market demands. For example, a study in West Bengal villages in India found that employment in irrigated areas was almost constant
throughout the year w ith no „dead‟ season, but in non-irrigated areas there were
two severe gaps each year with almost no work DFID, 2000. Water also has important economic benefits through industrial use, power
generation and transport at national level. These benefits can have a profound impact on economic opportunities for poor people, and, hence, the elimination of
poverty. Water is a consumption need which is paid for with revenue gained from
economic activities or in time spent collecting it. In combination with other assets it can produce income Clarke, 1998. Increased scarcity of water through
drought or access restrictions reduces household capacity to combine water with other assets in order to produce income Nicol, 2000.
Improved access to safe water supply can reduce poverty at household level through saving time and energy. A reliable water supply ensures that poor
households have more time to engage in income generating activities, better hygiene and lower health care costs.
Fetching even a family‟s basic water requirement can be time-
consuming taking 26 of the household‟s time. It is also physically exhausting, a burden that falls disproportionately on women and
children white 1972 in DFID 2000, UNDP 2001, WSP 2010. In eastern Uganda
research found that women spend an average of 660 hours per year collecting water for their households, which represents two full months of labour WSP,
2010. UNDP estimates that some 40 billion hours a year, are spent collecting water in sub-Saharan Africa UNDP, 2006.
Being ill with a water-related disease, or caring for an ill family member, also consumes a lot of time and money for medical attention and medicines.
Water-borne epidemic of cholera can cost a country millions in lost agricultural exports and in trying to curb the epidemic as was the case in Zimbabwe in
20082009. Flood and drought are the main causes of poverty and of the displacement
and migration of poor populations. Drought alleviation could reduce the annual expenditure of many million women years a unit of measurement based on a
standard number of woman-days in a year of work of effort to carry water from distant sources. Improved water management ensures wider environmental
sustainability. However, there is evidence that provision of cheaper water does not
always result in people adopting the cheaper supply. Inclusive stakeholder analysis is essential as a prerequisite so as to identify the priorities of the poor
DFID, 2000. It is therefore access to water that matters. Contribution of water management to poverty reduction is not just achievable: it is affordable.
2.2 contribution of water to human development
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