COVID- 19 and human right to food: Lived experiences of the urban poor in Kenya with the impacts of government’s response measures: A participatory qualitative study

Background: Globally, governments put in place measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. Information on the effects of these measures on the urban poor is limited. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of the urban poor in Kenya in the context of government’s COVID-19 response measures and its impact on the human right to food. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in two informal settlements in Nairobi between January and March 2021. Analysis draws on eight focus group discussions, eight in-depth interviews, twelve key informant interviews, two photovoice sessions and three digital storytelling sessions. Phenomenology was applied to understand an individual’s lived experiences with the human right to food during COVID -19. Thematic analysis was performed using NVIVO software. Results: The human right to food was affected in various ways. Many people lost their livelihoods, affecting affordability of food, due to response measures such as social distancing, curfew, and lockdown. The food supply chain was disrupted causing limited availability and access to affordable, safe, adequate, and nutritious food. Consequently, hunger and an increased consumption of low-quality food was reported. Social protection measures were instituted. However, these were inadequate and marred by irregularities. Some households resorted to scavenging food from dumpsites, skipping meals, sex-work, urban-rural migration and depending on food donations to survive. On the positive side, some households resorted to progressive measures such as urban farming and food sharing in the community. Generally, the response measures could have been more sensitive to the human rights of the urban poor. Conclusions: The government’s COVID-19 restrictive measures exacerbated the already existing vulnerability of the urban poor to food insecurity and violated their human right to food. Future response measures should be executed in ways that respect the human right to food and protect marginalized people from resultant vulnerabilities

Quality of Water the Slum Dwellers Use: The Case of a Kenyan Slum

As a result of rapid urbanization in a context of economic constraints, the majority of urban residents in sub-Saharan Africa live in slums often characterized by a lack of basic services such as water and sewerage. Consequently, the urban poor often use inexpensive pit latrines and at the same time may draw domestic water from nearby wells. Overcrowding in slums limits the adequate distance between wells and pit latrines so that micro-organisms migrate from latrines to water sources. Sanitary practices in these overcrowded slums are also poor, leading to contamination of these wells. This study sought to assess sanitary practices of residents of a Kenyan urban slum and fecal contamination of their domestic water sources. This cross-sectional study involved 192 respondents from Langas slum, Kenya. Forty water samples were collected from the water sources used by the respondents for laboratory analysis of coliforms. Of these 40 samples, 31 were from shallow wells, four from deep wells, and five from taps. Multiple-tube fermentation technique was used to enumerate coliform bacteria in water. The study found that most people (91%) in the Langas slum used wells as the main source of domestic water, whereas the rest used tap water. Whereas most people used pit latrines for excreta disposal, a substantial percentage (30%) of children excreted in the open field. The estimated distance between the pit latrines and the wells was generally short with about 40% of the pit latrines being less than 15 m from the wells. The main domestic water sources were found to be highly contaminated with fecal matter. Total coliforms were found in 100% of water samples from shallow wells, while 97% of these samples from shallow wells were positive for thermotolerant coliforms. Three out of the four samples from deep wells were positive for total coliforms, while two of the four samples were positive for thermotolerant coliforms. None of the samples from taps were positive for either total or thermotolerant coliforms. Because the presence of thermotolerant coliforms in water indicates fecal contamination, facilitated by the proximity between the wells and pit latrines, the study suggests that the pit latrines were a major source of contamination of the wells with fecal matter. However, contamination through surface runoff during rains is also plausible as indiscriminate excreta disposal particularly by children was also common. Owing to the fecal contamination, there is a high possibility of the presence of disease pathogens in the water; thus, the water from the wells in Langas may not be suitable for human consumption. To address this problem, treatment of the water at community or household level and intensive behavioral change in sanitary practices are recommended. Efforts should be made to provide regulated tap water to this community and to other slums in sub-Saharan Africa where tap water is not accessible. However, more sampling of different water sources is recommended

The challenges of breastfeeeding in poor urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa

CITATION: Kimani-Murage, E. W. et al. 2020. The challenges of breastfeeeding in poor urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa, in Macnab, A., Daar, A. & Pauw, C. 2020. Health in transition : translating developmental origins of health and disease science to improve future health in Africa. Stellenbosch: SUN PReSS, doi:10.18820/9781928357759/07.Optimal breastfeeding has the potential to prevent more than 800 000 deaths in children younger than five years; 500 000 neonatal deaths; and 20 000 deaths in women every year. Despite these benefits, evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa shows that breastfeeding practices remain sub-optimal with only 25 per cent of children exclusively breastfed for the first six months, while six per cent of infants in these countries are never breastfed. For example, although the proportion of children who were exclusively breastfed in Kenya improved from 32 per cent in 2008 to 61 per cent in 2014, pockets of suboptimal breastfeeding practices are documented in urban slums. Exclusive breastfeeding in some of the urban slums in Kenya is as low as two per cent, with the age of introducing complementary foods being onemonth post-delivery, while about a third of children are not breastfed within one hour of delivery as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Urban slums are faced by unique social and structural factors that hinder optimal breastfeeding including poverty and non-conducive livelihood opportunities, poor living conditions, food insecurity, poor professional and social support to breastfeeding mothers and knowledge deficit coupled with negative cultural beliefs and misconceptions about breastfeeding. This situation calls for macrolevel policies and interventions that consider the ecological setting. Promising interventions may include global initiatives such as the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, the Baby-Friendly Community Initiative, Human Milk Banking and the Baby-Friendly Workplace Initiative. However, innovations in their implementation need to take consideration for the contextual complexities. This chapter explores breastfeeding practices, associated challenges and interventions that could promote breastfeeding in urban slums.Publisher's versio

Perceptions of the influence of a mobile phone-based messaging platform on caregiver ECD knowledge, attitudes and practices: a qualitative exploration in an informal settlement in Nairobi

Abstract Background Programs supporting initiatives for children younger than three years are inadequate and not accessible to many families, particularly in resource-limited settings. Many primary caregivers have little knowledge on how to monitor the development of their children or the importance of engaging children in stimulative activities during the course of early development. Health system limitations make it difficult for health workers to educate and demonstrate stimulative engagement to caregivers. The massive use of technology can be used to facilitate access to growth and development programs for children. We developed and implemented a mobile phone technology to help caregivers monitor and stimulate their children’s development in real-time. This study explored the influence that this intervention had on the caregivers’ early child development (ECD) knowledge, attitudes and practices. Methods In this qualitative cross-sectional study, we conducted interviews through eight (8) focus group discussions, three (3) key informant interviews and 9 indepth interviews among a total of 111 participants including primary caregivers (n = 87), community health volunteers (CHVs) (n = 21) health managers and workers (n = 3) to determine their attitudes and experience with the intervention with regards to improving their KAP. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed thematically. Results Caregivers and CHVs reported that the intervention had provided them with new knowledge that positively influenced their ECD caregiving attitudes and practices. CHVs and health workers and managers reported that the intervention had provided caregivers with confidence in caring for their children while increasing their knowledge on how to monitor and stimulate their children’s development. Conclusion Mobile phone technology can be effectively used to enhance caregivers’ knowledge of ECD and enable them to monitor and support their children’s development in real-time. Trial registration The trial was registered with the Pan African Clinical Trial Registry ( www.pactr.org ) database (ID number: PACTR201905787868050 Date: 6/05/2019

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