Water fetching and musculoskeletal health in Sub-Saharan Africa

What is it about?

This scoping review explores water fetching and the musculoskeletal (MSK) health of women in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) through a life-course perspective. Although water has been declared a fundamental human right by the United Nations, many households in SSA do not have adequate water accessibility and it is socioculturally women’s responsibility to walk far distances carrying water to provide for the household. This practice, performed by millions of women worldwide every day, is predicted to persist for many years due to deeply ingrained sociocultural gender norms and increasing water insecurity, as a result of climate change and population growth in SSA. This review outlines how women in SSA endure the harmful MSK impacts of water fetching through the many stages of life—from childhood and childbearing years to old age. As a result, they face gender disparities in health outcomes and opportunities for personal and economic development.

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Photo by Jeff Ackley on Unsplash

Photo by Jeff Ackley on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The MSK issues reported in this review are preventable and this is a global public health problem that is socially normalized, under-measured, and underrepresented in the literature. This paper aims to inform future studies and interventions in MSK healthcare, aiming to prevent, reduce, and rehabilitate poor MSK health, ultimately improving both individual and societal well-being.

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