This study, by taking the case of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, investigates therneffects of water and sanitation provision on poor women. The study was instigated byrnthe observation that the pressure of inadequate water supply and sanitation provision fallrnmore on the poor than better offs; and among the poor, the problems are intense onrnwomen due to biological, economic and socio- cultural factors.rnIn order to thoroughly examine water supply and sanitation issues affecting poor womenrnin the Addis Ababa context, relevant primary and secondary data were generated andrnpersonal observations were made and analyzed. Three poor neighbourhoods (two fromrnthe inner-city slums and one from the informal settlements) were identified as casernstudy areas and 120 poor women were selected through a multi-stage sampling method.rnMajor findings of the study indicate that in the city in general and in the studiedrnneighborhoods in particular unavailability of water and sanitation at the requiredrnquantity, place, affordability, accessibility and safety has been strongly affecting thernlives of poor women. It shows that these interrelated effects highly influence the health,rnincome, privacy, dignity, security, social status of poor women including the time theyrncan use for self improvement.rnAs the effects are multiple so are the causes. The results of this study show that the rootsrncauses are related to the socio-economic status of women including the rigid genderrndivision of labour, inadequate access to economic resources and poor decision makingrnpower. These coupled with failure to implement the nationally declared gender andrnpoverty policies as well as gender mainstreaming strategies made women arguably thernmost deprived in human as well as economic terms.rnThe study concludes that water and sanitation, which is one of the most importantrndevelopment challenges facing Addis Ababa, has been affecting the lives of the poorestrnof the poor who live in the ill serviced slums and squatter settlements. So, action tornimprove water and sanitation situation is an important step to enable the poor people inrngeneral and poor women in particular to escape poverty.rnTo escape from poverty, among other things, poor women need to be empowered. Tornachieve this goal, economic growth and financial resources are of course necessary, butrnthey are not enough. This study suggests that by adopting an integrated and multisectored approach, by putting poor womenâ€™s needs at the center of water and sanitation service provisions and by enabling them to take part in the decision making and priority setting process it is possible to make a difference