The Poverty Problem

In mid-2023, I joined the Luwingu DWASHE team that was conducting an Open Defecation Free (ODF) verification in Tungati Chiefdom. Accompanied by representative from the Chief’s council mandated by the Chief, we were tasked with enforcing sanitation compliance. Households lacking toilets were to face penalties, often in the form of chickens. All was well until we visited a village called Mwamba Tungati. Our visit to this village revealed stark realities. At least to me. The pervasive stench of poverty was immediate upon arrival. Homes were incomplete or in disrepair, with crumbling mud walls and thatched roofs barely holding together. Children, dressed in dirty, stained clothes, showed signs of neglect, with some appearing not to have bathed or eaten in days. The absence of toilets underscored a critical sanitation crisis, contributing to health risks and perpetuating the cycle of poverty. Moved by the dire conditions, I urged the DWASHE team to refrain from imposing (traditional) penalties. Instead, we pooled resources and distributed K50 to select households to purchase essentials like soap or to support maize milling, offering immediate relief while emphasizing the need for hygiene and food security.

A striking observation in Mwamba Tungati was the predominance of women-led households, many headed by unmarried women and young mothers. According to the 2022 Living Conditions Monitoring Survey (LCMS), 60% of Zambian households live below the poverty line, with rural areas facing higher poverty rates (78.8%) compared to urban areas (31.9%). In Northern Province, where Luwingu is located, poverty is compounded by limited access to resources, with 1 in 2 children lacking proper sanitation facilities and 1 in 4 using unsafe water sources. This is a huge contradiction of realities considering that the northern part of the country has medium to high rainfall. The survey also notes that 36% of children live in crowded homes, a reality evident in Mwamba Tungati’s cramped, inadequate housing.

Many women in the village are single mothers, often abandoned by spouses unwilling to shoulder familial responsibilities. This pattern reflects broader social challenges, including gender inequality and early marriage. The 2018 Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) reports that 29% of girls aged 15 – 19 have been pregnant, with rural areas showing higher rates of early marriage and teenage pregnancy. These young women, often divorced or abandoned, face limited access to education and economic opportunities, perpetuating a cycle of multidimensional poverty. The LCMS indicates that 70.6% of children experience deprivation in two or more dimensions, such as sanitation, water and education, with girls in rural areas disproportionately affected.

The sanitation in rural areas is dire as only 19% of rural households have access to basic sanitation, compared to 49% in urban areas. Open defecation, which was prevalent in villages like Mwamba Tungati, increases the risk of diarrheal diseases whose frequency and severity. Malnutrition is another pressing issue whose risks increases with increased diarrhea. 32% of children under the age of 5 are stunted due to poor nutrition, a figure likely higher in impoverished rural districts.

In the heart of Mwamba Tungati, where poverty’s grip tightens around crumbling mud homes and the air carries the weight of sanitation struggles, women stand as the quiet architects of change. As primary caregivers, they weave hygiene and health into the fabric of their households. Fighting poverty and improving sanitation requires a multifaceted approach that addresses harmful social practices and builds social, human and resource capital. With economic and educational empowerment, these women - often single mothers bearing the scars of early marriage and abandonment - can break the chains of dependency and dismantle the cycle of poverty.

Having lived and worked in rural Zambia for years, I’ve seen how women bear the brunt of household responsibilities, especially in polygamous or single-parent setups, where gender disparities and inadequate infrastructure fuel a vicious cycle of poverty. Addressing the sanitation-poverty nexus demands a collaborative approach: government, traditional leaders, NGOs and international partners. Introducing or scaling up initiatives like Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) or Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILCs) can provide women with access to small loans and financial literacy. These programs can enable them to start small businesses, eg selling hygiene products or agricultural produce, reducing dependency and enabling investment in sanitation infrastructure like latrines. Economically empowered women can afford essentials (e.g. soap, food, latrine materials) which improves household hygiene and reducing health risks from open defecation. 

Chief Tungati’s mandate to enforce sanitation, which led to his chiefdom becoming ODF by the end of 2023, exemplifies the power of leveraging local authority and resources. By harnessing and leveraging on the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), particularly its 20% allocation for women and youth empowerment, communities can implement sustainable solutions. In their hands, resilience and transformation both at household and villages levels is possible. Any society that is serious about ending poverty must work tirelessly to lift the economic status of women, who are actually the majority in the population.