Thesis Format
Integrated Article
Degree
Master of Arts
Program
Geography and Environment
Supervisor
Prof. Isaac Luginaah
Abstract
The increasing rate of extreme climate change has contributed to rising temperatures and extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, and wildfires. These occurrences raise concerns about the impacts of water insecurity on the health and well-being of women and girls in marginalized contexts. Within the socio-cultural context of semi-arid Ghana, households without water within their immediate premises rely on women and girls to perform the responsibility of providing water for household use. This calls for measures that can improve water accessibility and its sustainable usage. One such measure is through social protection programs (SPP). Ghana implemented the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) program as a SPP, aimed at poverty reduction and livelihood improvements. In the Ghanaian context, there has been minimal focus on the role of social protection in increasing access to water and addressing water insecurity. Therefore, this study seeks to explore the impact of social protection on water security and women’s empowerment. Exploring the relationship between social protection policies, water security, and their collective impact on women’s empowerment is important for (re)designing comprehensive strategies to address the challenges faced by marginalized communities, particularly women and girls.
The study employed a qualitative approach and collected data through in-depth interviews with informed consent from the participants. A purposive sampling technique was used to select households with a woman who is a LEAP beneficiary and a girl who is involved in water collection. Women (n=25), and Girls (n=19) were interviewed. Thematic analysis was utilized to generate the themes for discussions. The findings show thatwomen LEAP beneficiaries use cash transfers for improved water access. However, to further cope with water insecurity, women sometimes borrow water from friends and families for basic domestic purposes such as cooking. The findings of the study also show that WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) hinders the livelihoods (i.e., agricultural and trade livelihoods) and the co-responsibilities mandated by LEAP. Furthermore, the study findings uncovered the potential effects of relative deprivation created by the LEAP support on the psychosocial health of women LEAP beneficiaries in the Wa West District. Some LEAP non-beneficiaries in the communities feel that there is unfairness in the LEAP selection process, thus leading to resentment against the program beneficiaries, which creates social tension within the local communities.
This study reinforces that LEAP should be redesigned to include water and sanitation services as part of the portfolio of complementary services for beneficiaries in the communities. Public awareness should be created to give education on LEAP eligibility to minimize the negative consequences that beneficiaries face in their respective communities.
Summary for Lay Audience
Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims to ensure access to water and sanitation for all. However, about 2.2 billion people around the world do not have access to safely managed water. Water insecurity is prevalent among poor and marginalized individuals and households in areas like Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The prevalence of water insecurity can be attributed to increasing climate change, lack of water infrastructure and services, and the cost associated to securing water. In Ghana, this presents a significant challenge to many people. In the Wa West District (WWD), where the study was conducted, scholars and media outlets have reported that human beings compete with animals, such as cows, for drinking water. The people are constantly deprived of access to safe drinking water. This deprivation comes as a result of both structural and financial barriers to water. The long and severe dry season, which dries up the wells, dams, and streams, also contributes to water scarcity in the district. This negatively impacts women and girls. With this situation of water deprivation, there is a need to look for and identify sustainable solutions that can be used to improve water access among the population.
In Ghana, the most common and well-known social protection program is the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) program. LEAP provides cash handouts to the poor every two months. The money the beneficiaries receive depends on the number of vulnerable people in the household determined by LEAP. This study, therefore, looks at how the LEAP program increases women and girls' access to water and their empowerment. The findings overall show that through LEAP, women and girls can pay for the cost of safe water, which usually costs Ghc0.50 pesewas ($0.032) and Ghc1($0.064). Sadly, this is not sustainable because they have other household expenditures to cover.
It was interesting to know that limited access to WASH was a hindrance to the co-responsibilities mandated by LEAP. Due to this limited access to WASH, they are unable to practice basic personal hygiene, drink safe water, and stay healthy as the program requires. The lack of water also affects their farming activities and reduces their productivity, which contributes to food insecurity in the long term.
Upon all these challenges, these women still have to deal with societal tensions because those who are not enrolled in the program think their enrollment in LEAP is because of favour from LEAP officers. Non-beneficiaries resent them, and some even refuse to talk to the beneficiaries. Even with all these prevailing social tensions, the beneficiaries are still seen as a source from which they can borrow money to also help with their basic needs, such as food.
Based on these findings, the study calls for the increased provision of water infrastructure, which can be done through the installation of water infrastructure such as boreholes and standpipes in the communities where there are LEAP members. This will help make water accessible for the beneficiaries and the whole community and contribute to their efforts to reduce poverty and vulnerability in rural areas. The study also recommends investment in water security strategies such as rainwater harvesting at the household level as this will help free up time for women and girls to participate in economic and productive activities. There should be a (re)design of social protection programs to include gender-responsive strategies to address practical gender needs and women concerning water access.
Recommended Citation
Molle, Mildred Naamwintome, "Exploring The Impact of Social Protection on Water Security and Women's Empowerment" (2025). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 10912.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/10912