Attention to the needs of women and girls in WASH: An analysis of WASH policies in selected sub-Saharan African countries

There has been a push for understanding gendered violence in WASH in recent times. Attention is therefore shifting to how these issues are conceptualised, considering their embeddedness in context. One step primarily is to understand how existing policies in WASH acknowledge the needs of women and girls in WASH. In doing this, we conducted a summative content analysis of selected policy documents on WASH: five at the international level and five each from Ghana, Uganda and Kenya. Findings suggest that existing policies inadequately acknowledge WASH related gender-based violence and pay little attention to the complex ways gender and WASH relations are intimately connected. Generally, a holistic policy approach for addressing gender-based violence in WASH is needed. The paper recommends a system policy approach to address the unique needs of women and girls in WASH in sub-Saharan Africa.