Housing The average size of shack in this area is 12ft x 12ft built with mud walls, a corrugated tin roof with a dirt or concrete floor. These shacks often house up to 8 or more with many sleeping on the floor. The other shack owners are mostly Kikuyu the majority tribe in Nairobi — although in most cases they do not live there but are absentee landlords.
The majority of the tenants are Luo, Luhya and some Kamba — these people are from the west of Kenya. UN-Habitat is in the process of providing it to some parts of Kibera — this will include street lighting, security lighting and connection to shacks this costs KES per shack, which in most cases is not affordable.
Water Until recently Kibera had no water and it had to be collected from the Nairobi dam. The dam water is not clean and causes typhoid and cholera. Now there are two mains water pipes into Kibera, one from the municipal council and one from the World Bank.
Residents collect water at KES 3 per 20 litres. Sewage In most of Kibera there are no toilet facilities. One latrine hole in the ground is shared by up to 50 shacks. Once full, young boys are employed to empty the latrine and they take the contents to the river. UN-Habitat and a few other agencies are trying to help and improve this situation but it is painfully slow. They do a great job. Changaa This is cheap alcoholic brew. The cost is only KES 10 per glass and after a couple of glasses people become very drunk.
Several charities are trying to help by showing the Changaa makers how to make the drink less dangerous. Drugs Cheap drugs and glue sniffing are an increasing problem. To minimise their risk to the virus - challenging as it might be - residents should, like residents everywhere, be practising as much personal hygiene as they can. For instance, wash hands whenever possible. The community and local government can and are helping with this , and I understand that water distribution points for hand-washing are being set up as a public service.
The community must also unify, alerting each other where necessary of illness resembling COVID, and self-isolate if possible in the case of a potential exposure. Most importantly, no one is to blame for the spread of the virus, and there should not be a pattern of blaming others. Each individual should take responsibility for themselves. In short, these are the same recommendations as everywhere else in the world right now, within what circumstances allow. Government public health authorities are doing what they can, and people should listen to and follow their advice.
The added challenge for residents during this pandemic are the diseases and health conditions that already exist, and which could predispose people to worse outcomes if infected with COVID These include respiratory bacterial infections, such as tuberculosis and chronic disease related to nutrition and poor health. The government is helping by providing easier access to water and sanitation.
It should also make plans to ease the routes of food supply. Food distribution systems in these environments follow largely informal channels through markets and selling on the streets. These channels work well. But they are also vulnerable, especially as movement and transport links get disrupted.
And when markets are being closed down, as is the case now. The authorities must allow supply chains to operate and continue to move the essential food commodities — such as milk, meat and vegetables — that people need. Finally, the government should be open about its mitigation strategies, and provide clear information to allay the fears of the population. Portsmouth Climate Festival — Portsmouth, Portsmouth.
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