Effect of Community Participation in Access to Social Services: A Case Study of Hazina Ya Maendeleo Ya Pwani Approach in Coastal Kenya

Abstract

Hazina Ya Maendeleo Ya Pwani -HMP to improve access to social services among the coastal communities in Kenya. The HMP adopted the Community Driven Development (CDD) approach, whose underlying philosophy is community participation in the delivery of social services and the management of coastal natural resources. In this study, therefore, the extent to which community participation improved access to social services among the coastal communities was assessed using four dimensions of access comprising: availability, affordability, geographical accessibility, and acceptability. A total of 285 respondents from community project beneficiary groups were interviewed across the six coastal counties. There was a significant relationship between community participation and affordability of social services. The results also revealed that there was no significant relationship between community participation and the other dimensions of access namely: availability, geographical accessibility and acceptability of social services. The study indicates that community participation in development interventions is effective in enhancing affordability of social services. Conversely, it cautions that community participation in itself is not necessarily a panacea to fully address the challenge of limitation of access to social services, in terms of availability, geographical accessibility and acceptability of these services. The study concludes that other factors exist besides community participation that influences availability, geographical accessibility and acceptability of social services. Hence, it is difficult to attribute the outcomes of any local service delivery initiative singly on citizen participation. Community Driven Development (CDD), Hazina Ya Maendeleo Ya Pwani (HMP), Community Participation