Dungumaro, Esther W.2016-05-032016-05-032013Dungumaro, E.W., 2013. Availability of domestic water and sanitation in households: A gender perspective using survey data in South Africa. Urban Population-Environment Dynamics in the Developing World: Case Studies and Lessons Learned, Committee for International Cooperation in National Research in Demography (CICRED), Paris, viewed, 13.http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11810/1785The availability of domestic water and adequate sanitation is high on the agenda of both international and local communities. Despite concerted efforts to achieve the targets set by the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for water and sanitation, current levels of water supply and adequate sanitation coverage remain largely inadequate. Various contributing factors, including economic and demographic pressures, account for the lack of adequate domestic water and sanitation. This paper analyzes the availability of water and sanitation in South Africa by gender of head of household. Lack of water and poor sanitation is one of the many challenges faced by poor urban populations. The paper examines gender differentials and the availability of domestic water and sanitation using the 2002 South Africa General Household Survey. The analysis is primarily descriptive. However, principal component analysis is also used for the purposes of estimating the wealth of households. The study finds a relationship between the socioeconomic status of households and the availability of water and sanitation. However, it does not find any major difference in the wealth of households and the availability of adequate water and sanitation by gender of household head. Based on these findings, the study recommends that generalizations concerning the feminization of poverty need to be avoided and that interventions in the realm of water and sanitation need to take account of the socioeconomic status of households and of their areas of residenceenGenderSanitationSouth AfricaWaterBook chapter