Child Survival and Development in Nairobi Slums

In April 2011, a survey was conducted by the Community Health Workers (CHWs) of the Orphans and Vulnerable Children's (OVC) Project in Africa to determine the health and well being of the children under 5 years of age in the squatter settlement of Kanaani in Athi River County, Kenya. The results of the survey are as follows.

The total number of children under 5 years of age was 80. Out of this number, 36 (45%) were males and 44 (55%) were females.

70% of the survey respondents were mothers, 14% were fathers and the remaining 13% were grandparents, other relatives or non-relatives.

When asked about the general health of the child, respondents indicated that 50% were in good health, 40% were in average health and 10% were in poor health. Even so, 58% of the children had been ill during the past two weeks and care was sought for 70% of them.

Health Behavior

Over 50% of the households had bednets which are essential for the prevention of Malaria and 55% of the children in the households with bed nets sleep under them.

Hand washing with soap before eating, which is the major method for interrupting the transmission of bacteria causing diseases such as diarrhea, respiratory infections, and trachoma, was practiced by 69% of the children over 2 years of age.

Each child is issued a government Health Card at birth which records the immunization status and records their weight for age for the first five years. Immunizations prevent the spread of disease such as diphtheria, mumps, measles, tetanus, etc., which are important causes of under 5 mortality. Weight for age indicates if the child is normal, under or overweight. Malnutrition is one of the leading causes of deaths in children under 5 in sub-Saharan Africa.

Respondents reported that 61 (76%) children had health cards, but only 37 (46%) had the cards available. Therefore, it was not possible for the interviewers to determine if their immunizations were up to date nor if they were of normal weight.

The results of the survey provide an informative data base for planning action concerning the health, well being and problems of the children under 5 in Kanaani.

Child Survival and Development in Nairobi Slums Project was begun in March 2011 when we arrived in Nairobi to plan for a survey in the squatter slum community of Kanaani. Before arriving we modified the survey from that we had used in other slum communities. The purpose of the survey was to learn about the health and well being of the children under five years of age. We first visited the community to locate the elders and important leaders and gain permission to conduct the survey. They welcomed us and were willing to help. Our next step was to arrange for a group of our Community Health Workers (CHWs) from our OVC Project in Africa to walk the community and count and map the 145 houses.

Plans were made for training the CHWs from nearby slum communities to conduct the survey. Three resident of Kanaani were also included. Then we conducted a pilot survey to test the questionnaire. On April 2nd a group of 20 CHWs and three Kanaani residents formed ten teams and conducted interviews in households with children under five. A total of 80 children were identified and a questionnaire was completed through interviews of parents and other caregivers. The survey was successful and the Information Technology person is preparing to enter the data from the questionnaire into the computer for analysis.

The results of the survey will help us to plan interventions where needed to benefit the health and welfare of the children.