Assessment of living condition of urban slum dwellers in India in the New Millennium

Background: : Slum dwellers are likely to be among the most deprived people in urban areas. Poor hygiene practices and inadequate sanitary conditions play major roles in the increased burden of communicable diseases within developing countries like ours.Objective: To assess the knowledge and practice about personal hygiene and environmental sanitation in selected slums of Dhaka city.Materials and method: This cross sectional study was conducted in purposively selected urban slum areas of Moghbazar slum, Bashabo slum and T&T slum of Dhaka city during February 2014 to April 2014. Convenient sampling technique was applied. Semi-structured pre-tested questionnaire was used and face to face interview was conducted. Total 475 subjects, irrespective of age and sex, were included in this study.Results: Out of 475 respondents, more than fifty percent slum dwellers resided in tin shaded room while 21.7% in kacha houses. Sixty six percent of the respondents used to drink water from tube-well and 24% used supplied water provided by the city corporation. The study revealed that near 59% of the respondents used sanitary latrine. About 67% slum dwellers regularly practiced hand washing before taking meal and 59.2% respondents used soap after defecation. About fifty percent respondents brushed their teeth regularly with tooth paste. Regarding personal cleanliness, 81% subjects took bath regularly while 78% washed clothes irregularly. A statistically significant relation was found between washing of hands before meal (p=0.001), washing of hands after defecation (p=0.02), tooth brushing (p=0.001), bathing (p=0.009), washing of cloths (p=0.001), use of footwear (p=0.63) with knowledge of personal hygiene of the slum dwellers.Conclusion: Continuous community hygiene education along with adequate access to water supply and sanitation improves hygiene behaviour and policy makers and health care providers should have definite strategy and implementation.Delta Med Col J. Jul 2015; 3(2): 68-73

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Household Food Security of Urban Slum Dwellers: A Case Study in Colombo Municipality, Sri Lanka

Journal of Food Chemistry and Nanotechnology ◽

10.17756/jfcn.2021-0110 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 34-40

Author(s):

N.L. Gunawardhana ◽

GAS Ginigaddara

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Urban Slum ◽

Household Food Security ◽

Household Food ◽

Slum Dwellers

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Subversive Archaism

10.1215/9781478022244 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Michael Herzfeld

Keyword(s):

National Identity ◽

Equation Of State ◽

Urban Slum ◽

The Political ◽

Nation State ◽

Close Attention ◽

Slum Dwellers ◽

State Authority ◽

Modern Nation State

In Subversive Archaism, Michael Herzfeld explores how individuals and communities living at the margins of the modern nation-state use nationalist discourses of tradition to challenge state authority under both democratic and authoritarian governments. Through close attention to the claims and experiences of mountain shepherds in Greece and urban slum dwellers in Thailand, Herzfeld shows how these subversive archaists draw on national histories and past polities to claim legitimacy for their defiance of bureaucratic authority. Although vilified by government authorities as remote, primitive, or dangerous—often as preemptive justification for violent repression—these groups are not revolutionaries and do not reject national identity, but they do question the equation of state and nation. Herzfeld explores the political strengths and vulnerabilities of their deployment of heritage and the weaknesses they expose in the bureaucratic and ethnonational state in an era of accelerated globalization.

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Mobile Teaching Kitchen Project – eradicating and preventing malnutrition through nutrition education

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.1334 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

S Ray

Keyword(s):

Nutrition Education ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Urban Slum ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Micronutrient Deficiencies ◽

Think Tank ◽

Diet Diversity ◽

Health And Nutrition ◽

Slum Dwellers ◽

Education Tool

Abstract Background Global malnutrition, affecting over 2.6 billion people globally, represents a triple burden to health in the form of micronutrient deficiencies, under-and over-nutrition. Malnutrition reaches all parts of society, with those undernourished and deficient in vitamins and minerals often thought to be the poorer in society, whilst overnourished those wealthier. NNEdPro, an international think-tank working to develop nutrition capacity, performed a landscaping activity in Kolkata, India and noted significant undernutrition within the slum dwelling population and overnutrition among the inner-city workers. Results NNEdPro' s Mobile Teaching Kitchen (MTK) project was developed as a nutritional education tool to improve awareness of diet diversity and disease prevention amongst marginalised communities by using locally sourced foods and cooking skills. Local volunteers trained in healthy cooking transfers core principles through cooking demonstrations of sustainable, nutritional, and affordable meals. They follow a 'See One, Do One, Teach One' (S1D1T1) model to transfer knowledge to their peers. This model aims to create a sustainable solution that will enable the rural-urban slum dwellers across regions of the world to challenge food insecurity and malnutrition. Conclusions The potential of the Teaching Kitchen can extend beyond creating powerful behavior change for improved health and nutrition within local communities of both developing and developed countries. In addition to improving the wellbeing of the community, the project can also potentially create livelihood opportunities through empowering women with catering skills and having a positive impact on the health and nutritional status of the wider community. After successful impacts in India, the Mobile Teaching Kitchen model has been proposed to other 8 existing regional networks of NNEdPro such as Australia & New Zealand, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Switzerland, USA, and UK.

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Assessing water supply for the urban poor in Rajshahi City, Bangladesh

Management of Environmental Quality An International Journal ◽

10.1108/meq-06-2019-0138 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 75-88

Author(s):

A.S.M. Shuaib ◽

Md Masud Parves Rana

Keyword(s):

Water Supply ◽

Urban Poor ◽

Evaluation Method ◽

Urban Slum ◽

Content Type ◽

Priority Areas ◽

Institutional Economic ◽

Slum Dwellers ◽

Performance Evaluation Method ◽

Rajshahi City

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding about sources of water for the urban poor in Rajshahi city, Bangladesh. It evaluates water supply performances to identify priority areas of water supply for further improvement. The paper also illustrates whether location of slums in the city has a connection with water supply facilities or not. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents a case study of water supply for the urban slum dwellers. Based on a questionnaire survey, it evaluates performances of water supply following a holistic framework for assessing dimensions of water supply system among three slum zones of Rajshahi city. The dimensions of water supply are as follows: technical, biophysical, political, institutional, economic and social. Findings The research finds that most of the slum dwellers do not have reliable and sufficient access to water supply. The performance of water supply is location specific, and all of the slums do not have equal access to all dimensions of water supply. Overall performance of water supply is moderate, but individual performances of dimensions are unsatisfactory and unequal among the slums. Practical implications The paper suggests location-specific identification of strengths and weaknesses of water supply for the poor. It consolidates a performance evaluation method for identifying priority areas and needs of the urban poor for making Rajshahi city more inclusive and sustainable. Originality/value The paper provides an assessment of water supply performance for the urban poor in Rajshahi city, Bangladesh.

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