Forms of Informality: Morphology and Visibility of Informal Settlements

BACKGROUND INTRODUCTION: The Kenyan constitution seeks to guarantee every citizen the right to quality healthcare services. Quite often this delivery is hampered by geographical location, socio-economic statuses among other factors. The country has a high mobile phone penetration rate. Digitalization of the healthcare sector is a vital aspect that contributes to effective delivery of care services. This study set out to assess the impact of mobile technology in closing the gaps within the health care service delivery. The objective of the study was to investigate the impact of mobile phone technology in bridging the gap in healthcare service delivery in Kenya with a focus on Nairobi, Kibera informal settlements. Hypothesis testing using P-value of 0.05 also showed that use of mobile phone technology positively impacted the delivery of healthcare services. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to investigate the impact of mobile phone technology in bridging the gap in healthcare service delivery in Kenya with a focus on Nairobi, Kibera informal settlements. Hypothesis testing using P-value of 0.05 also showed that use of mobile phone technology positively impacted the delivery of healthcare services. METHODS The target population were patients visiting Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) clinic in Kibera informal settlements. A cross-sectional study design was employed. Purposive and simple random sampling method was used to select the study sample of 210 participants and 3 healthcare providers. Data were collected using survey questionnaire that was provider-administered and Data were analyzed using SPSS version. RESULTS The characteristics of the respondents were general (mean age, education level, social economic status) to only patients who visited the clinics for HIV tests and other related services such as going for ARVs. The main findings showed that 66.12% of the respondents (14.29% strongly agreed + 55.24% agreed) that the use of mobile phone technology improved their access to healthcare services. Using chi square, there was a statistical difference due to the positive impact of mobile technology on healthcare delivery (p=0.05). CONCLUSIONS The study findings showed that 66.12% of the respondents agreed that the use of mobile phone technology and SMS improved their access to healthcare services. The results hypothesis also proved that use of mobile phone technology positively impacts the delivery of healthcare services.

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COVID-19 and informal settlements: an urgent call to rethink urban governance

International Journal for Equity in Health ◽

10.1186/s12939-020-01198-0 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

S. Van Belle ◽

C. Affun-Adegbulu ◽

W. Soors ◽

Prashanth N. Srinivas ◽

G. Hegel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Urban Governance ◽

Informal Settlements

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Study design, rationale and methods of the Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments (RISE) study: a cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate environmental and human health impacts of a water-sensitive intervention in informal settlements in Indonesia and Fiji

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042850 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. e042850

Author(s):

Karin Leder ◽

John J Openshaw ◽

Pascale Allotey ◽

Ansariadi Ansariadi ◽

S Fiona Barker ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Randomised Controlled Trial ◽

Human Health ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Informal Settlements ◽

Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial ◽

Well Being ◽

Cluster Randomised ◽

Abundance And Diversity ◽

Randomised Controlled ◽

Health And Well Being

IntroductionIncreasing urban populations have led to the growth of informal settlements, with contaminated environments linked to poor human health through a range of interlinked pathways. Here, we describe the design and methods for the Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments (RISE) study, a transdisciplinary randomised trial evaluating impacts of an intervention to upgrade urban informal settlements in two Asia-Pacific countries.Methods and analysisRISE is a cluster randomised controlled trial among 12 settlements in Makassar, Indonesia, and 12 in Suva, Fiji. Six settlements in each country have been randomised to receive the intervention at the outset; the remainder will serve as controls and be offered intervention delivery after trial completion. The intervention involves a water-sensitive approach, delivering site-specific, modular, decentralised infrastructure primarily aimed at improving health by decreasing exposure to environmental faecal contamination. Consenting households within each informal settlement site have been enrolled, with longitudinal assessment to involve health and well-being surveys, and human and environmental sampling. Primary outcomes will be evaluated in children under 5 years of age and include prevalence and diversity of gastrointestinal pathogens, abundance and diversity of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes in gastrointestinal microorganisms and markers of gastrointestinal inflammation. Diverse secondary outcomes include changes in microbial contamination; abundance and diversity of pathogens and AMR genes in environmental samples; impacts on ecological biodiversity and microclimates; mosquito vector abundance; anthropometric assessments, nutrition markers and systemic inflammation in children; caregiver-reported and self-reported health symptoms and healthcare utilisation; and measures of individual and community psychological, emotional and economic well-being. The study aims to provide proof-of-concept evidence to inform policies on upgrading of informal settlements to improve environments and human health and well-being.EthicsStudy protocols have been approved by ethics boards at Monash University, Fiji National University and Hasanuddin University.Trial registration numberACTRN12618000633280; Pre-results.

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Informal Land Rights and Infrastructure Retrofit: A Typology of Land Rights in Informal Settlements

Land ◽

10.3390/land10030273 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 273

Author(s):

Mahsa Mesgar ◽

Diego Ramirez-Lovering

Keyword(s):

Green Infrastructure ◽

Service Providers ◽

Informal Settlements ◽

Land Rights ◽

Spatial Dimension ◽

Careful Consideration ◽

Public Infrastructure ◽

The Individual ◽

The Right ◽

Control And Management

Informal settlements represent a challenging operational context for local government service providers due to precarious contextual conditions. Location choice and land procurement for public infrastructure raise the complicated question: who has the right to occupy, control, and use a piece of land in informal settlements? There is currently a dearth of intelligence on how to identify well-located land for public infrastructure, spatially and with careful consideration for safeguarding the claimed rights and preventing conflicts. Drawing on a case study of green infrastructure retrofit in seven informal settlements in Makassar, Indonesia, we classify the informal settlers’ land rights into four types: ownership, use, control, and management. This exploratory study uses a typological approach to investigate the spatial dimension of land rights in informal settlements. We introduce non-registrable land interests and the partial, dynamic, and informal land use rights that impact the land procurement for infrastructure retrofit. We also create a simple spatial matrix describing the control/power, responsibilities and land interests of different stakeholders involved in the location decision making for public infrastructure. We argue that without sufficient understanding of non-formal land rights, land procurement proposals for the public infrastructure upgrades can be frustrated by the individual or group claims on the land, making the service provision impossible in informal settlements.

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