Water and Sanitation Challenges of Slum Dwellers in Ghana: The Case of Nima Women

Urban centres are often seen as engines of development, but rapid urbanisation in most of the developing world has also resulted in stark inequalities between the rich and the poor, environmental degradation and growing numbers of slum dwellers. Women in cities often suffer disproportionately, not only because they are, on average, poorer than men (three-fifths of the world’s one billion poorest people are women and girls), but often also because they experience greater difficulty in accessing resources and services tailored to their needs, and decision-making opportunities (WEDO, 2003).

The water and sanitation practices of women in poor settlements in Accra are worrying. Thus inadequate social amenities in the slums,the people of Nima lose their productive time in search of water and sanitation services. The residents have also developed bad habits which degrade the environment and also make them more vulnerable to health problems.Proper solid waste disposal methods should be encouraged in the Nima community with the provision of more designated places and more refuse containers at vantage points in Nima. There should also be the discouragement of the payment of tokens to persons who are caretakers of these refuse dumps.

Residents, especially women and children should be educated to refrain from throwing human excreta into refuse containers and gutters in the community. The AMA should also ensure that refuse is collected daily from the community so as to minimize the health risks residents are exposed to.