The burden of care: water, health and gender in the Dolphin Coast concession

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Periodical article

Title:	The burden of care: water, health and gender in the Dolphin Coast concession
Author:	Hemson, David
Year:	2007
Periodical:	Urban Forum
Volume:	18
Issue:	3
Pages:	211-225
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	water supply drinking water households poverty multinational enterprises public health women
External link:	https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12132-007-9013-6
Abstract:	In South Africa, the Dolphin Coast concession - a contract between one of the foremost water multinationals and a local authority - has been one of the most publicized examples of a public private partnership in South Africa. The Dolphin Coast concession was launched in early 1999 with considerable support from the national government. But the shift from municipal water supply to privatized management was historically associated with the outbreak of a cholera epidemic and increased pressures on the poor to achieve cost recovery. Under these conditions, the burden on poor households and particularly on women providing care in communities with high incidence of HIV has increased. Despite a series of concessions in its favour, the water company has faltered on two fronts: it has lagged in implementing the national policy of providing free basic water, and it is failing to respond to the pressure from middle-class residents for disclosure and transparency. Bibliogr., ref. [ASC Leiden abstract]