Researching urban poverty in sub-Saharan Africa

2007 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-38
Author(s):  
Guillaume Iyenda
Keyword(s):  
Urban Poverty ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan

Case Studies in Urban Health

Urban Health ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 332-341
Author(s):  
Alex Ezeh ◽  
Blessing Mberu
Keyword(s):  
Urban Health ◽  
Surveillance System ◽  
Urban Poverty ◽  
Large City ◽  
Demographic Surveillance System ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Poverty And Health ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Improve Health

A project of the Africa Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), the Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System was set up to provide a platform to explore the linkages between urban poverty and health and to monitor and evaluate novel implementation programs that were developed with the study communities. In this chapter, the authors draw on nearly two decades of work by APHRC among slum populations in Nairobi, Kenya, to highlight the unique health challenges of slum populations and how these are changing. The chapter summarizes various efforts to improve health in Nairobi’s informal settlements since 2000 and discusses efforts in Nairobi to improve health in a large city in sub-Saharan Africa, summarizing lessons that have been learned in improving urban health worldwide.

Single mothers coping with food insecurity in a Nairobi slum

Urban Studies ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 004209802096384
Author(s):  
Sangeetha Madhavan ◽  
Shelley Clark ◽  
Sara Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Single Mothers ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
Urban Poverty ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Intangible Resources ◽  
Sub Saharan

With high urbanisation rates, cities in sub-Saharan Africa are contending with food insecurity. Urban studies scholars have approached the issue mainly from the perspective of food deserts. We adapt Sen’s ‘resource bundles’ and Watts and Bohles’s ‘space of vulnerability’ concepts to examine food insecurity as a function of both tangible and intangible resources. Moreover, we also interrogate the role of kin in strengthening safety nets for the urban poor. Drawing on a data set of 462 single mothers in a slum in Nairobi, Kenya, we find that (1) bundles comes in four types; (2) bundles with high levels of all resources buffer against food insecurity as do (3) bundles weighted with high levels of wealth and social standing; and (4) kin enhance the protective effect of bundles only for two types. These findings should direct urban poverty researchers to consider the compounding effect of resources in the reproduction of poverty and social inequality and encourage policy makers to focus on both vulnerability and resilience in designing interventions to ensure food security.

scholarly journals Diagnosing the Urban Expansion-Land Conflict Nexus in Bamenda II, Cameroon

2021 ◽  
pp. 36-46
Author(s):  
Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi ◽  
Yvette Lum Awah
Keyword(s):  
Urban Poverty ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Municipal Services ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Land Conflicts ◽  
Land Conflict ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Sub Saharan

Urban growth in the context of sub-Saharan Africa generally introduces attendant effects. Some of these include land use conflicts, pressure on municipal services and the challenges of urban poverty. While these issues have received significant attention, an issue which seemed to have eluded geographical literature, at least in the context of Bamenda, centres on the extent to which urban expansion triggers land conflicts. This paper analyses the trend of urban expansion in Bamenda II, and explores the relationship between urban expansion and land conflicts. A total of 80 households were randomly sampled, complemented by participant observation and focus group discussions. The Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient revealed a positive correlation between urban expansion and land conflicts. It is therefore necessary for policy interventions to regulate the pace of urban expansion with a view to preserving the last vestiges of natural and agricultural space. Further conflicts could be avoided through a clear demarcation of boundaries, including the facilitation of the process of acquiring land titles.  This will reduce the cases of land conflict and haphazard urban expansion.

scholarly journals Understanding Wealth Inequalities in Education Access in Urbanizing Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurice Mutisya ◽  
John Munyui Muchira ◽  
Benta A. Abuya
Keyword(s):  
Urban Poor ◽  
Urban Poverty ◽  
School Enrollment ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Demographic And Health Surveys ◽  
Education Access ◽  
Poor Households ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Measures Of Inequality

Introduction: Urbanization is a double-edged sword, while it is transforming the world, it is also creating spaces that pose threats to its benefits. In sub-Saharan Africa, urbanization is occurring amidst slowed economic growth and into spaces that are already strained. This is resulting in the growth of urban poverty and possibly increasing inequalities. It is thus imperative to understand the effects of urbanization in realizing inclusive and equitable education for all.Objective: We examine inequalities in enrolment of schooling going children aged 6–17 years living in urban areas using the latest Demographic and Health Surveys data from 24 SSA countries.Methods: We utilize three measures of inequality: Rate difference, rate ratio, and relative concentration index to examine inequalities in education access. Using wealth status as the key inequality indicator, we compute and compare school enrollment of children living in urban poor households with that of those living in urban rich households for each measure of inequality. Where appropriate, we stratify the results by country, age, and gender.Results: The results show high levels of inequalities in education access in urban settings. Across all the measures of inequality, in most countries, children from urban poor households were significantly less likely to be in school compared to those from the richest ranked households. The degree of inequality varied considerably between countries and the age groups. Among children aged 6–11 years, Tanzania, Burundi, Nigeria, and Uganda had the highest degree of inequality favouring the urban rich. We also find intriguing results in few countries such as Ethiopia, Benin, Senegal and Mali, which the urban poor had, better school enrolments than the urban rich. We do not find a clear pattern to suggest girls from poor households are overly disadvantaged than boys from similar households.Conclusion: Our study shows a high level of inequalities in education access in an urban setting, with children age in urban poor settings hugely disadvantaged. There is a need for strategic efforts in terms of deliberate interventions and policy frameworks to combat the apparent inequalities that disadvantage children from poor families from accessing education.

RTS,S/AS01, a vaccine targeting pre-erythrocytic stages of Plasmodium falciparum

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. 533-537
Author(s):  
Lorenz von Seidlein ◽  
Borimas Hanboonkunupakarn ◽  
Podjanee Jittmala ◽  
Sasithon Pukrittayakamee
Keyword(s):  
Protective Efficacy ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Phase Iii ◽  
European Medicines Agency ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Pivotal Phase ◽  
Malaria Epidemiology ◽  
Maximum Benefit ◽  
Sub Saharan

RTS,S/AS01 is the most advanced vaccine to prevent malaria. It is safe and moderately effective. A large pivotal phase III trial in over 15 000 young children in sub-Saharan Africa completed in 2014 showed that the vaccine could protect around one-third of children (aged 5–17 months) and one-fourth of infants (aged 6–12 weeks) from uncomplicated falciparum malaria. The European Medicines Agency approved licensing and programmatic roll-out of the RTSS vaccine in malaria endemic countries in sub-Saharan Africa. WHO is planning further studies in a large Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme, in more than 400 000 young African children. With the changing malaria epidemiology in Africa resulting in older children at risk, alternative modes of employment are under evaluation, for example the use of RTS,S/AS01 in older children as part of seasonal malaria prophylaxis. Another strategy is combining mass drug administrations with mass vaccine campaigns for all age groups in regional malaria elimination campaigns. A phase II trial is ongoing to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the RTSS in combination with antimalarial drugs in Thailand. Such novel approaches aim to extract the maximum benefit from the well-documented, short-lasting protective efficacy of RTS,S/AS01.

Mortality and Society in Sub-Saharan Africa

1993 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 555-556
Author(s):  
Lado Ruzicka
Keyword(s):  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan
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