1.0 Water as a Basic Right  

1.1 Overview:  

Access to water; safe drinking water and for hygiene is a requirement for the health, survival and growth of every human being. Yet, more than 2.4 million people, most of them children, die annually from water related diseases due to the absence of a qualitatively safe water supply;² Water is also critical to development especially in Africa, where communities’ livelihoods; their ability to feed themselves and provide for their other needs is dependent on livestock herding and crop farming to which water is central. The increase in incidences of inter-community conflict over water is indicative of just how important water is to one’s very existence. Economically, lack of water is costly on any nation if looked at from the perspective of the amount of time lost, especially by women, in fetching water, the number of water related ailments suffered and treated and the agricultural and livestock potential that is unexploited due to lack of water. Sub-Saharan Africa loses 5% of its gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimated at about US$ 28.4Billion annually due to inadequate supply of water³. By improving its water and sanitation services, Kenya could save up to Ksh 145Billion annually⁴.

Background and Introduction

The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) is a leading national, non-governmental organization, founded in 1992 in Kenya with a mission to protect, promote and enhance the enjoyment of all human rights for all men and women in Kenya.