Health and livelihood implications of the marginalization of slum dwellers in the provision of water and sanitation services in Nairobi city

Type Conference Paper - Urban Population, Development and Environment Dynamics in Developing Countries
Title Health and livelihood implications of the marginalization of slum dwellers in the provision of water and sanitation services in Nairobi city
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2007
City Nairobi
Country/State Kenya
Abstract
Water and sanitation planning issues in Nairobi have an almost century-long history of being politicized. As a result, slum dwellers have continually lived on the margins of the Kenyan economy, in contrast to non-slum Nairobi residents, as well as rural populations in the country. A legacy bequeathed by colonialism, government policy around the planning of Nairobi City was historically shaped by racial segregation along commercial and residential lines (Nangulu-Ayuku, 2000). While this structure held obvious benefits for colonialists, who thereby maintained economic and political control, it compelled Kenyan migrants from the rural areas to set up informal settlements in Nairobi, with the attendant poor living conditions and lack of basic public services.

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