Inequality and discrimination in access to water and sanitation in the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region, Minas Gerais State, Brazil

Access to water and sanitation services by the population of the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, has been marked by processes of socio-spatial segregation and social exclusion. Considering the recognition, in 2010, of the human rights to water and sanitation by the United Nations, we seek to assess the adequate access to these services in the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region through the principle of equality and non-discrimination. We used microdata from the demographic censuses, years 2000 and 2010, from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. We analyzed these data through descriptive and comparative statistical analysis, spatial analysis and multivariate analysis, so as to: determine the extent of the universalization of the adequate access to those services; assess the spatial dependence between municipalities regarding this access; identify and characterize possible access discrimination, by specific population groups. Results show an increase in the proportion of households with adequate access to water and sanitation services in the intercensus period; near lack spatial association, showing inequalities among the 34 municipalities of the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region; access inequalities among different population groups - according to household situation, income, race or color, sex and educational level - in a possible non compliance with the principle of non-discrimination.

Keywords:
Water Supply; Sanitation; Social Inequity; Human Rights