Availability, Accessibility, and Sufficiency of Domestic Water among Women in Selected Areas of Baringo South Constituency, Baringo County, Kenya
Emmy Cheptoo Kerich
Vincent Sudoi
Shadrack Mule
Abstract
Baringo South Constituency, located within Kenya’s semi-arid Rift Valley, faces chronic domestic water scarcity that
disproportionately affects women as primary household water procurers. This study evaluated the availability,
accessibility, and sufficiency of domestic water for household use among women in Marigat and Mochongoi wards of
Baringo South Constituency. The study was guided by the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework developed in the 1990s
by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development as part of its poverty reduction and development
strategies. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was adopted. A multistage sampling procedure yielded 320
completed household surveys (81.4% response rate) from an initial sample of 393 women. Structured questionnaires,
focus group discussions, and key informant interviews collected data on water sources, collection burdens, reliability,
and coping strategies. The Water Poverty Index (WPI) was computed to assess multidimensional water insecurity.
Descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests were applied using SPSS version 27. Boreholes (36.3%) and surface water
sources (48.4%) were the main domestic supplies, yet 72.5% of sources were unavailable year-round and 51.2% were
unreliable. Women were the primary water collectors in 69.4% of households; 62.5% traveled over 500 meters, and
71.9% spent more than one hour per trip. During dry seasons, 89.7% of women reported increased collection effort.
Water was rarely or never sufficient for 70.3% of households, and 67.5% practiced daily or weekly rationing. The
computed WPI was 32.6, indicating high water poverty. No significant spatial differences existed between Marigat
and Mochongoi wards across any indicator (p > 0.05). In conclusion, women in Baringo South experience severe
water insecurity characterized by unreliable infrastructure, extreme temporal and physical collection burdens, and
chronic domestic insufficiency. Gender-responsive investments in safe water infrastructure and governance are
urgently required.
