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In June 2017, GeoPoll conducted an SMS-based straw poll to more than 240 respondents in Jordan to understand accessibility to clean water, impact of accessibility on household habits, and water collection methods. As part of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UN identified clean water and sanitation as its sixth goal with a mission to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” by 2030. Yet, despite this focus and substantial investment in Jordan’s water infrastructure over the past two decades, Jordanians have mixed perceptions on progress against this development objective.
GeoPoll collected data from 247 respondents—49 percent of whom were female—across 11 of the 12 governorates in Jordan. Overall, most households have local water systems infrastructure; 81 percent of households noted that they receive water through household pipes, wells, and hand pumps. Only 17 households (6%) claimed community water sources as their primary method of sourcing water. Further, the survey participants noted that they had clean water: 86 percent stated that they had not become sick from a water source within the previous month.
Despite these gains, there are still opportunities to strength water accessibility and quality of water access. Four out of every 10 respondents noted that they did not have enough water to meet their daily needs. Thirty-two percent cited it was due to a broken water source and 19 percent identified cost while others identified drought and distance as key issues. Of those 40 percent who did not have enough water to meet their daily needs, participants identified how they coped with reduced water consumption: 30 percent stated they bathed less frequently and 23 percent said they washed their food less.
Underpinning accessibility and quality issues, GeoPoll sought to understand perceptions about management and responsibility for water provision. More than half of respondents—51 percent—noted that the Government of Jordan has the most responsibility for ensuring clean water in the household. Respondents were also asked who provided their water. An overwhelming majority—61 percent—stated the government, followed by the private sector with 28 percent. However, when asked who they contact to fix their water issues, only 13 percent identified the government. On a more positive note, 51 percent of those surveyed noted that issues were fixed within one day.
The dynamics of the water sector are complex and citizen perceptions are a vital component to understanding these issues. GeoPoll’s SMS assessment in Jordan provides a rapid insight into these evolving concerns.
About GeoPoll Straw Polls
GeoPoll is the world’s largest real-time mobile survey platform, reaching a growing network of more than 320 million users in 30 countries worldwide on a deeply granular level and at unprecedented scale. Through a multimodal platform powered by text, voice and web-based communications, GeoPoll enables organizations to gather quick, accurate and in-depth insights on everything from consumer preferences to social and development concerns.
GeoPoll leverages its platform to engage mobile users through ad hoc “straw polls” that provide insights into real-time sentiments of current events. This GeoPoll rapid survey was conducted in June 2017 among 247 Jordanians using GeoPoll’s SMS platform. The survey has a 95 percent confidence level with a +/- 6.4 margin of error.
Straw Poll Specs
- Country surveyed: Jordan
- Language: Jordanian Arabic
- Mode: SMS
- Questionnaire length: 16 questions
- Sampling frame and approach: men and women, over 15 years old, drawn from GeoPoll’s user database based on SMS recruitment
- Total sample size: 247 respondents
- Fieldwork duration: 2 weeks
(image source: wordsinthebucket.com)