Title
Sachet water in Ghana: A spatiotemporal analysis of the recent upward trend in consumption and its relationship with changing household characteristics, 2010–2017
Date Issued
01 May 2022
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Moulds S.
Chan A.C.H.
Tetteh J.D.
Bixby H.
Owusu G.
Agyei-Mensah S.
Ezzati M.
Templeton M.R.
Imperial College London
Publisher(s)
Public Library of Science
Abstract
The consumption of packaged water in Ghana has grown significantly in recent years. By 2017, “sachet water”—machine-sealed 500ml plastic bags of drinking water—was consumed by 33% of Ghanaian households. Reliance on sachet water has previously been associated with the urban poor, yet recent evidence suggests a customer base which crosses socioeconomic lines. Here, we conduct a repeated cross-sectional analysis of three nationally representative datasets to examine the changing demography of sachet water consumers between 2010 and 2017. Our results show that over the course of the study period sachet water has become a ubiquitous source of drinking water in Ghana, with relatively wealthy households notably increasing their consumption. In 2017, the majority of sachet water drinking households had access to another improved water source. The current rate and form of urbanisation, inadequate water governance, and an emphasis on cost recovery pose significant challenges for the expansion of the piped water supply network, leading us to conclude that sachet water will likely continue to be a prominent source of drinking water in Ghana for the foreseeable future. The main challenge for policymakers is to ensure that the growing sachet water market enhances rather than undermines Ghana’s efforts towards achieving universal and equitable access to clean drinking water and sanitation.
Volume
17
Issue
5 5
Number
e0265167
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Oceanografía, Hidrología, Recursos hídricos
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85130846001
PubMed ID
Source
PLoS ONE
ISSN of the container
19326203
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus