Water and Sanitation for Urban Health: A Gender Perspective on Impacts and Coping Strategies in Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality

Rapid urbanisation has become one of the greatest threats to urban health, particularly among low-income urban areas in the Global South. One of the key aspects of urban health is access to water and sanitation for all as stated in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6. While substantial progress has been made in increasing access to clean drinking water and sanitation, billions of people, mostly in developing countries, still lack these basic services. Cholera outbreaks and the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the critical importance of sanitation, hygiene, and adequate access to clean water to create environments, which are conducive to preventing and containing diseases. Women and girls, especially those living in urban poverty, are disproportionately affected by access to water and sanitation. This chapter explores the gender disparities and implications of inadequate water and sanitation in Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality. We explore local water and sanitation coping strategies among women in selected communities in Mangaung. Data for this study is based on qualitative surveys and key informant interviews. We conclude that gender equality with regards to access to water and sanitation in African cities should be emphasised as basic human rights and are fundamental in achieving other SDGs. We suggest prioritising women’s participation in water governance in their communities, increasing the availability of sex-disaggregated data on water, sanitation, and hygiene, challenging social norms around women’s leadership, and gender-based violence in water and sanitation issues.