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Open Access 01-06-2011

Do Migrant Children Face Greater Health Hazards in Slum Settlements? Evidence from Nairobi, Kenya

Authors: Philippe Bocquier, PhD, Donatien Beguy, Eliya M. Zulu, Kanyiva Muindi, Adama Konseiga, Yazoumé Yé

Published in: Journal of Urban Health | Special Issue 2/2011

Abstract

Between 60% and 70% of Nairobi City’s population live in congested informal settlements, commonly referred to as slums, without proper access to sanitation, clean water, health care and other social services. Children in such areas are exposed to disproportionately high health hazards. This paper examines the impact of mother and child migration on the survival of more than 10,000 children in two of Nairobi’s informal settlements—Korogocho and Viwandani—between July 2003 and June 2007, using a two-stage semi-parametric proportional hazards (Cox) model that controls for attrition and various factors that affect child survival. Results show that the slum-born have higher mortality than non-slum-born, an indication that delivery in the slums has long-term health consequences for children. Children born in the slums to women who were pregnant at the time of migration have the highest risk of dying. Given the high degree of circular migration, factors predisposing children born in the slums to recent migrant mothers to higher mortality should be better understood and addressed.

Many people choose also to live in the relatively cheap squatter settlements in order to accumulate savings for various investments in their home communities while acquiring the city experience that prepares them for a more permanent formal urban job.

It should be noted that most mothers who were in the study area when APHRC started running the NUHDSS were migrants. Only about 25% and 5% of the residents aged 12 years and above were born in Korogocho and Viwandani settlements, respectively.

KPLC issued a notice to all residents of Nairobi City whose houses were located below high voltage electricity lines to demolish their dwelling units within three months or face force eviction/demolition. This led to mass demolition of houses in the two slums and while some of the residents relocated to other dwelling units within the two slums, a lot of the people from the affected houses moved out of the slums. That is why 2004 has a markedly higher number of out-migrants than the other years. While the notice of demolition clearly led to a higher level of attrition, there is no reason to believe that the departure from the study population due to this fact affected survival probabilities of the children beyond the normal effect of out-migration.

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Title: Do Migrant Children Face Greater Health Hazards in Slum Settlements? Evidence from Nairobi, Kenya
Authors: Philippe Bocquier, PhD
Donatien Beguy
Eliya M. Zulu
Kanyiva Muindi
Adama Konseiga
Yazoumé Yé
Publication date: 01-06-2011
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Urban Health / Issue Special Issue 2/2011
Print ISSN: 1099-3460
Electronic ISSN: 1468-2869
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-010-9497-6

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Do Migrant Children Face Greater Health Hazards in Slum Settlements? Evidence from Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

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