A Water and Sanitation Needs Assessment for Kisumu City, Kenya

Abstract

The city of Kisumu is located in Western Kenya, on the shores of Lake Victoria, the second largest fresh water lake in the world; yet the city is characterized by chronic water shortages. Research on the water sector in Kisumu City also shows that water and sanitation services are not keeping pace with the rapid population growth. Many low-income residents living in informal settlements and peri-urban areas lack access both to clean water and to safe and environmentally sound sanitation facilities. The city desperately needs an efficient water supply system and improved sanitation services. Hygiene education also needs to be accorded priority, mainly because water-borne diseases such as cholera, dysentery and typhoid contribute to numerous deaths every year