Urban Poverty and Access to WASH Service Study

Team Member: M. Fajar Rakhmadi, Sofni Indah Arifa Lubis, Ana Rosidha Tamyis, Cecilia Marlina, Hafiz Arfyanto, Nurmala Selly Saputri
Completion Year:
Jawa Barat
Environment & Climate Change, Poverty & Inequality

Collaborating Partners

Funding body:



Description & Progress


The IUWASH Project has long been providing technical assistance to local governments and local water supply companies (PDAM) to improve access to safe water and sanitation in urban areas. While the IUWASH Project has made significant progress in expanding access to improved water and sanitation facilities, it also faces challenges in its implementation particularly in measuring the success of targeting methods. Against this backdrop, SMERU was commissioned to explore ways to evaluate the extent to which IUWASH benefits poor communities, with a case study in Kota Bogor.

The main objectives of this study were: (i) mapping urban poor households that had access to safe water and hygiene sanitation, and (ii) identifying the factors that determine urban poor households’ decision-making in relation to accessing safe water and hygienic sanitation.


Methodology and Data

The study adopted mixed-methods, engaging both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The qualitative methods (indepth interviews and FGDs) were employed to explore the current conditions of poverty, water, and sanitation in Kota Bogor, as well as to update the Unified Poor Household Data (PPLS) to ensure the poor households identified in that dataset still exist and can be surveyed later. Secondary data—including PPLS data, Kota Bogor Local Water Company (PDAM) subscribers, and the Communal Sanitation Infrastructure database—was used as the basis to select six kelurahan for household surveys covering 800 poor households. 


Research Highlight

The research findings from this study are:

  1. Based on the mapping of urban poor households’ access to safe water, not all poor households in Kota Bogor have been well-served by PDAM. The urban poor households that decided to access safe water provided by PDAM did so out of convenience, while those who did not access PDAM mentioned financial barriers, such as the high registration cost and monthly bills. They also felt that there was no problem with the quality and quantity of the water which they use now.
  2. The sanitation behavior of poor urban households in Kota Bogor was relatively good. Most households have proper sanitation facilities, but there were some households that still practice open defecation and dispose of household waste into the river. This behavior is related to the high cost of building proper sanitation facility, the culture of open defecation in rivers which had made them feel uncomfortable in using latrines, and the unavailability of space to build proper sanitation facility at home.

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