Access to water and sanitation in urban occupation in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte: effects on health, quality of life and gender relations

Abstract

The article aims to understand how access to water and sanitation occurs in the Vitória Occupation and the residents' perception of the association between this access and health conditions: the emergence of diseases, quality of life and gender relations in the community. This is a qualitative study, based on immersion in fieldwork, employing participant observation in the Occupation and in interviews with residents of the Occupation. It was observed the precariousness of access to water by the population, which occurs through irregular connections to formal networks, and the predominance of rudimentary septic tanks. The population relates the lack of sanitation with the emergence of infectious and parasitic diseases and impacts on gender inequality. Inadequate access to water and sewage impacts the community's quality of life by compromising the production of agroecological food and cultural and identity practices. The informality of the settlement translates into greater social vulnerability and greater exposure of the population to effects on their health, especially on women and children.

Keywords:
Urban settlement; Water access; Sanitation access; Health.