Access to and factors influencing drinking water and sanitation service levels in informal settlements: Evidence from Kampala, Uganda

Abstract

Inequalities in access to safely managed water and sanitation services remain one of the barriers to making urban informal settlements more inclusive and safe areas to live. The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDG) agenda provides a new perspective for global monitoring of water and sanitation progress by the United Nations. With a dearth of studies on this development agenda, especially as far as water and sanitation service levels in slums are concerned, our findings are important in contributing to an evidence base from which progress in urban slums could be monitored. Primary data were collected from one of the biggest slums in Kampala city (Kinawataka) using a mixed methods approach. Piped water was the main source of drinking in the community (87%), and most dwellers (85%) were using shared sanitation facilities. Drinking water services were mainly basic (75%) and sanitation services were limited (88%). Only 12% of the water services and 7% of the sanitation services were safely managed. The main factors for service levels included source of drinking water (β = 0.26, p < 0.001) and the user management for sanitation facilities (β = 0.84, p < 0.001). Our study findings suggest that interventions and policies that aim to increase the distribution, reliability, and proximity of piped water to households, and to improve the quality and management of shared sanitation for better hygiene are fundamental to achieving SDG6 in urban slums.