Journal Article Ppublish 29 citations
PubMed: 35092785 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153398
An examination of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) accessibility and opportunity in urban informal settlements during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Nairobi, Kenya.
Sci Total Environ 823:153398
Authors: Junghwan Kim, Erica Hagen, Zacharia Muindi, Gaston Mbonglou, Melinda Laituri
Affiliations
- Center for Geographic Analysis, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, USA.
- GroundTruth Initiative, USA.
- Map Kibera Trust, Kenya.
- UASG Advisors, USA.
- Center for Geographic Analysis, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, USA; Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State University, USA.
Abstract
This research examines water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) accessibility and opportunity in Kibera and Mathare during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. Kibera and Mathare are two of the largest urban informal settlements in Nairobi (the capital city of Kenya) as well as Sub-Saharan Africa. Accessibility indicates how easily a person can reach WASH facilities from their home by walking. Opportunity represents how many WASH options a person has near their home. We utilize the data on water and toilet facilities collected by GroundTruth Initiative in partnership with Map Kibera Trust (local community partners) between February and April 2021 - amid the COVID-19 pandemic. By conducting quantitative geospatial analysis, we illustrate WASH accessibility and related issues that were not evident in previous studies: (1) 77.4% of people living in Kibera have limited WASH facility accessibility or opportunity; (2) 60.6% of people living in Mathare have limited WASH facility accessibility or opportunity; (3) there is a clear geographic pattern in WASH facility accessibility and opportunity; and (4) overall accessibility and opportunity is better in Mathare than in Kibera. This study is one of the first studies to examine WASH accessibility and opportunity in urban informal settlements during the COVID-19 pandemic by utilizing the current data and quantitative geospatial methods. Based on the results, we discuss important public health policy implications for people living in urban informal settlements to improve their WASH facility accessibility and opportunity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
MeSH
Sanitation, Environment, Research, Hygiene, Environmental Health, Pandemics, Covid-19
Cited by
- A systematic review of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) during humanitarian crises and/or emergencies in low- and middle-income countries. Front Public Health, 2022
- Transitional Infrastructures Extending Access to Safe Water in Informal Settlements: A Cross-Sectional Study in Nairobi, Kenya. Am J Trop Med Hyg, 2025
- Differences in walking access to healthcare facilities between formal and informal areas in 19 sub-Saharan African cities. Commun Med (Lond), 2025
- Water, sanitation, and hygiene insecurity and disease prevention behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in low-income neighborhoods of Beira, Mozambique. PLoS One, 2024