Influence of household socioeconomic factors on user’s satisfaction with sanitation technologies in Kisumu City, Kenya

Abstract

The global sanitation crisis is urbanizing, with more than half of human excreta produced in global south cities not properly disposed of. However, most interventions addressing poor sanitation services have focused much more on infrastructure provision with less consideration for the user satisfaction. This paper contributes towards advancing this discussion by expounding on how socioeconomic factors influence sanitation service satisfaction in Kisumu city, Kenya. The paper is based on a survey of 384 households and focus group discussions. The results are analysed using ordinal logistic regression and sanitation technology satisfaction index is computed by combining users’ satisfaction with service delivery indicators. Analysis shows that income and sanitation technology are significant determinants of sanitation odour (p<0.1), while education, tenancy, income, and sanitation technology are significant determinants of sanitation accessibility (p<0.1). The index shows that users of sewer connection are the most satisfied with sanitation service delivery at 30.71 % as compared to the users of biogas latrine who are the most dissatisfied at 0.38%. Qualitative results reveal a myriad of reasons influencing users’ satisfaction with off-site and on-site sanitation technologies. The paper highlights the pivotal role played by socioeconomic factors in the provision of safe, affordable, secure, and dignified sanitation services in cities. The study recommends the adoption of enabling policy framework and capacity build of sanitation service watchdog organizations to periodically capture, document, and share information on the users’ perspectives on the services accessed by the citizenry with relevant state and non-state agencies for action.