Open AccessIndividual choices and universal rights for drinking water in rural Africa
Author(s) -
Robert Hope,
Paola Ballón
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2105953118
Subject(s) - payment , business , water industry , government (linguistics) , universal service , public economics , economics , water supply , economic growth , finance , political science , linguistics , philosophy , environmental engineering , law , engineering
Significance Globally, four out of five people without safe drinking water live in rural areas. The human right to water identifies inalienable attributes of drinking water services in terms of affordability, proximity, quality, and reliability. It is unknown how specific attributes correspond to people’s priorities to address the multibillion-dollar costs of maintaining services in rural Africa to 2030. Evidence from Kenya indicates that improving reliability by repairing waterpoint faults within 2 d is the dominant attribute in securing user payments. Attributes of water quality and proximity register less support and seem more suited to public funding. Charting common ground between universal rights and individual choices can inform public policy in the design of sustainable funding for rural water service delivery.