ABSTRACT

Spatial inequalities in the provision of water supply and services is a reality that plagues many communities over the world, with some areas being better than others. This is reflected in this research which focuses on the spatial inequalities in the provision of water supply and services in Yaoundé 3 municipality. The study’s main objective was to identify spatial inequalities in water supply and sanitation services within the municipality. Specific objectives included examining the conditions of these services across different neighborhoods, identifying contributing factors, and analyzing the implications of these inequalities.

The study used convenience sampling to select 100 households and nine neighborhoods for questionnaire administration.

Data sources included primary methods like questionnaires, interviews, and field observations, and secondary sources such as municipal development plans, policies, census data, academic research, and news articles. Data analysis employed inferential and descriptive statistics, SPSS software, content analysis, and hypothesis testing, with results presented in charts, graphs, tables, and narrative summaries. Findings revealed significant variations in water supply and sanitation conditions across neighborhoods. For water sources, 45.3% used the public piped water network (CAMWATER) while 3.2% relied on streams and springs. Regarding sanitation facilities, 55.1% used flush toilets connected to a septic tank, and 5.1% were connected to a sewage system.

Distance to primary water sources varied, with 71.4% within 100 meters and 2.4% between 500 meters and 1 kilometer. Similarly, 88.7% of respondents lived within 100 meters of sanitation facilities, whereas 1.1% lived over 1 kilometer away. Water supply frequency varied, with 80.4% receiving daily water supply and 10.9% only once or twice a week. Waste segregation practices showed that 65.2% never segregated waste, and 6.5% always did. Time to access water sources ranged from 62.2% taking less than 30 minutes to 4.9% taking over two hours, while 89.5% accessed sanitation facilities within 30 minutes compared to 1.2% taking more than two hours. Ratings of overall water supply and sanitation services were mostly poor, with 31.5% rating water services as very poor and 2.1% as excellent.

Factors contributing to these disparities included socioeconomic, environmental, and political issues. Negative implications included health problems, considered highly significant by 58.1% respondents, impacts on education, considered highly significant by 28.9%, gender inequality, considered highly significant by 26%, social tension considered highly significant by 33.3%, environmental degradation, considered highly significant by 51.1%, and economic hardship, considered highly significant by 45.5%. Recommendations to address these inequalities were addressed to various stakeholders, with some recommendations including better resource allocation, targeted subsidies, engagement with residents, regular educational campaigns, support for community-led projects, and restrictions on building in remote areas.

Keywords: Spatial inequalities, Access, Water supply, Sanitation services, Yaoundé 3 Municipality