Water at the Centre of Poverty Reduction: Targeting Women as a Stepping Stone in the Nadowli District, Ghana

Abstract

Poverty reduction has been a challenge in developing countries, pushing many development partners to devise strategies to tackle it. One of such strategies is the provision of water services. Although there has been much focus on water provision, the practice and benefits of integrating multiple-use water services in the design and implementation have been underexplored. This paper argues for the role of multiple-use water services in reducing rural poverty, especially among women. This is based on a case study that was conducted in two communities in the Upper West Region where multipleuse water services have been provided. Data was collected using focus groups discussion mainly with water user associations who are made up of women only, survey of 26 households, and physical observations of the water infrastructure and activities around the infrastructure. We found that access to water services saved time in water collection and contributed to increase household productive hours. Consequently, this resulted in increased output in their economic activities with positive ripple effects on other sectors of the rural economy, leading to poverty reduction as indicated by the participants. It is argued that investing in multiple-use water services is a major way of empowering women to actively engage in multiple streams of income and thus a great potential for achieving the sustainable development goals.

Keywords: Multiple-use Water Services, Household Livelihood, Rural Women, Poverty, Ghana