Department of Geography, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182, USA.
Health Place. 2012 Mar;18(2):250-62. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2011.09.020. Epub 2011 Oct 4.
Intraurban differentials in safe drinking water in developing cities have been exacerbated by rapid population growth that exceeds expansion of local water infrastructure. In Accra, Ghana, municipal water is rationed to meet demand, and the gap in water services is increasingly being filled by private water vendors selling packaged "sachet" water. Sachets extend drinking water coverage deeper into low-income areas and alleviate the need for safe water storage, potentially introducing a health benefit over stored tap water. We explore correlates of using sachets as the primary drinking water source for 2093 women in 37 census areas classified as slums by UN-Habitat, and links between sachet water and reported diarrhea episodes in a subset of 810 children under five. We find that neighborhood rationing exerts a strong effect on a household's likelihood of buying sachet water, and that sachet customers tend to be the poorest of the poor. Sachet use is also associated with higher levels of self-reported overall health in women, and lower likelihood of diarrhea in children. We conclude with implications for sachet regulation in Accra and other sub-Saharan cities facing drinking water shortages.
发展中城市的城市内安全饮用水差异因人口增长迅速而加剧，而当地的水基础设施的扩张速度却跟不上人口增长的速度。在加纳的阿克拉，城市供水实行配给制以满足需求，而私营水供应商销售包装的“袋装”水填补了供水服务的空白。袋装水将饮用水的供应范围扩大到了低收入地区，减轻了对安全储水的需求，这可能比储存的自来水更有益健康。我们研究了袋装水作为主要饮用水来源的情况，共有 2093 名妇女居住在联合国人居署划为贫民窟的 37 个普查区，我们还调查了袋装水与其中 810 名五岁以下儿童腹泻报告之间的联系。我们发现，社区配给制对家庭购买袋装水的可能性有很大的影响，而袋装水的消费者往往是最贫穷的人。袋装水的使用还与妇女的整体健康自评水平较高有关，而与儿童腹泻的可能性较低有关。最后，我们得出了袋装水在阿克拉和其他面临饮用水短缺的撒哈拉以南非洲城市的监管启示。
