Abstract

The study presents data collected in an assessment on the effects of socioeconomic factors on access to improved water sources and basic sanitation in Bomet municipality. Bomet municipality is one of the areas in Kenya where water borne diseases such as intestinal worms, diarrhea and bilharzia are most prevalent. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between socioeconomic factors and access to improved water and basic sanitation. A Multi-stage random sampling method was used to obtain the sample. The questionnaire was the main instrument for data collection. Analysis of data was done using the SPSS. Chi-Square test at 5% level of significance was used to analyze socioeconomic factors that determined household access to improved water and sanitation. The findings show that households’ characteristics such as occupation and education level of the household head have a strong impact on the type of water source used by household as indicated by significance level of 0.01. The study also confirms that the type of toilet facility used by household was significantly influenced by the marital status of household head as indicated by significance level of 0.02. There is need for inclusive growth, basic education and women empowerment in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Keywords:

Basic sanitation, improved water sources, socioeconomic factors, waterborne diseases,

References

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

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Copyright

The authors have no competing interests.