Improvement and accessibility of water and sanitation services is a major concern globally. In Kenya, most of the urban poor cannot afford the initial required fee for piped water connection. Against this background, in 2011, the Kenyan government received $300 million credit from the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) to increase access to water and sanitation services in fast-growing cities and towns in Kenya under the Water and Sanitation Services Improvement Project Additional Financing (WASSIP - AF). As a result, a social connections program with an innovative micro financing model of improving access to affordable drinking water and sewerage services among the low income people was initiated. A social connections program allows households to access micro-credit for water connection, and to repay the loan in installments together with the monthly water bill. Averagely, the cost of connecting water to a household in Kenya is about KShs. 8,215 (about US $ 94). This amount is usually paid to Water Service Providers like Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC). The initial capital includes a non-refundable commitment fee (US$ 29), deposit for water meter (US$ 29), and costs of piping and fittings (US$ 36). This explains why the majority of households opt to be served by water kiosks and boreholes, for which they pay up to ten times the tariff charged by NCWSC in other parts of the city. Most households rely on water sources more than 100 meters away. Moreover, due to the high initial connection costs, more often than not, some consumers illegally connect water resulting to a contribution to Non-Revenue Water. Besides reducing the cost of potable water to households, this initiative is bound to respond to Kenya's new constitutional demand that provides right to safe water and sanitation for all citizens, which means water and sanitation service providers, must also focus on underserved communities. This research paper examines the gains made by the social approach in increasing water and sanitation services among the urban poor in Nairobi, Kenya, lessons learned, challenges arising and proposes recommendations for scaling up in other urban areas for other future interventions.
