Urban Water Access, Social Inequality, and Public Health Outcomes in Formal Settlements of Sargodha City

Abstract

Access to safe and reliable water is generally considered to be a social determinant of health, especially in the fast-urbanizing cities of developing countries. In Pakistan, the access to water in even formally planned urban settlements is still unequal, and the water quality is low, as well as the governance arrangements, which has led to poor health outcomes on the population. This paper will examine the connection among urban water, social inequality and public health in the formal settlements of Sargodha City. Quantitative research design was used and primary data were gathered on the basis of a household survey conducted among 155 respondents, who were chosen with the help of stratified random sampling in five formal urban localities. Statistic and inference analysis were done in Statistical Package For Social Sciences (SPSS). The results show that the use of Canned water and other water resources is high, people are dissatisfied with the quality of water, and the level of water-borne diseases in households is also significant. The findings indicate that social inequality, lack of policy awareness and infrastructural gaps are the combined factors that increase health susceptibility in cities. The research also identifies the necessity to discuss the sociological and structural problem of urban water access as not a purely technical problem, but the significance of community involvement, equal distribution of resources, and health-oriented urban water management.