Slum Dwellers International (SDI)
Bio
Author Biography
Joseph Kimani is a trained community organiser and holds a master’s degree in Community Economic Development from the Open University of Tanzania. Joseph has worked with civil society organisations for the last 16 years, first in the human rights sector where he trained community human rights defenders, conducted peace trainings, and was involved with theatre for development. He later joined the development sector, working with various organisations on projects in informal settlements. Since 2015, he has worked with Slum Dwellers International (SDI) Kenya as a programme manager where he is currently overseeing the implementation of projects and programmes at the community level.
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Bio
Author Biography
Rosie Steege is a social scientist at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. She works alongside Kenyan partners on the Accountability and Responsiveness in Informal Settlements for Equity (ARISE) consortium which seeks to improve equity and accountability for those living and working in informal settlements. Her research utilises participatory and qualitative methods focused on health systems, community health, gender, equity, and intersectionality. Her doctoral work with community health workers sought to develop policies to hold governments accountable to gender-equitable approaches in community health service delivery.
Slum Dwellers International
Bio
Author Biography
Jack Makau is director of SDI Kenya, the support non‑governmental organisation (NGO) to Muungano
wa Wanavijiji, the Kenyan Slum Dwellers Federation, affiliated globally to Slum Dwellers International (SDI). Jack has been involved in informal settlement enumeration and mapping processes that have registered more than 300,000 households in more than 140 settlements. He has also taken part in baseline surveys in over 400 informal settlements in cities across nine African countries. Jack’s involvement in these processes has variously included research design, tool development, training, research implementation and coordination, analysis and reporting.
Slum Dwellers International
Bio
Author Biography
Kilion Nyambuga is a Graduate Urban and Regional Planner (University of Nairobi). Since 2013, Kilion has been a Programme Officer in charge of Data Management and Planning for Slum Dwellers International (SDI) Kenya. He has supported the SDI network (including 17 countries in Africa) in its transition to digital data collection and management. Kilion has also supported peer-to-peer learning exchanges in 17 cities in Kenya and five SDI countries. Kilion has focused on ensuring access to accurate data on slums for planning. He is currently working with Nairobi City County and Mukuru Community members to help develop a Mukuru Integrated Development Plan.
Slum Dwellers International (SDI)
Bio
Author Biography
Jane Wairutu is a Programme Officer at Slum Dwellers International (SDI) Kenya. Previously she worked at the Pamoja Trust and Muungano Support Trust and has been involved in innovating and implementing tools for community-led advocacy to secure land tenure in informal settlements in Kenya through community-led data collection. She has led in training and conducting profiling and enumeration in over 70 settlements in Kenya and several SDI-affiliate countries, as well as supporting community development projects. Her current portfolio includes working with the Nairobi County Government on the Mukuru Integrated Development Plan by coordinating the Health Consortium and Development Sector Plan.
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Accountability and Responsiveness in Informal Settlements for Equity (ARISE)
Bio
Author Biography
Rachel Tolhurst is a social scientist with a background in gender, development, and health. Her research interests and experience centre on qualitative and participatory research on gender and equity in health systems strengthening and the social determinants of health. Her research has included a focus on health areas including maternal and child health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender-based violence, antimicrobial resistance, and communicable and chronic disease (including malaria, tuberculosis, lung disease, and HIV). Her research currently focuses particularly on urban informal settings. Rachel is the Research Director for the Accountability and Responsiveness in Informal Settlements for Equity (ARISE) Hub.
Volume 52
Number 1
Published: March 25, 2021
For the large population living in Nairobi’s informal settlements, the long-term effects of Covid-19 pose a threat to livelihoods, health, and wellbeing. For those working in the informal sector, who are the lifeblood of the city, livelihoods have been severely supressed by Covid-19 restrictions such as curfews, pushing many into further poverty. This article draws on community data, meetings, and authors’ observations as community organisers, to explore the challenges posed by existing government responses from a community development perspective. We found that poor accountability structures and targeted income support only for the ‘most vulnerable’ exacerbates tensions, mistrust, and insecurity among already vulnerable communities. We draw on a rapid desk review of existing literature to argue that community-led enumeration to validate entitlement claims, improved accountability for distribution, and widening income support is required to build solidarity and improve the future resilience of these communities.