Module 8 - Underlying Factors

With increasing urbanization, more people are living in —

slums

What is the trend on people living in urban slums?

It’s increasing

What is a slum?

It’s an area characterized by:

1. Overcrowding 

• In terms of physical location and number of people in household 

2. Inadequate access to safe water 

3. Inadequate access to sanitation and infrastructure 

4. Housing has poor structural quality 

• Slums being build on swamp near a garbage dump 

5. Insecure residential status 

Nutrition-related challenges associated with living in an urban slum includes:

1. Increase risk of sickness 

2. Increase episodes of diarrhea 

3. Increase cases of food poisoning 

4. Increase stress levels 

5. Inadequate cooking infrastructure 

6. Lack of breastfeeding due to lack of safe water consumption by mother 

Where is the biggest urban slum in the world?

Kibera (Kenya, Africa)

What is a sack garden?

What does it include?

An urban farming initiative that was implemented as a strategy to increase food security in urban slums

Empty sugar sacks filled with soil, manure, stones, where one can plant vegetables

What are the strengths of sack gardens?

1. Improves food security 

2. Provides dietary diversification 

3. Provides high harvest

4. Harvest can be sold to earn income 

What are the limitations of sack gardens?

1. Limited availability of clean soil, water, manure, seedings, space

2. Damage from pests and animals

3. Midnight harvesters 

Note that families spend 80% of their income on food, thus sack garden strategy can:

1. Increase household food security 

• Provides extra food and income if sold

2. Strengths social capital among farmers 

• These sack gardens helped other sack gardeners 

Lack of water sanitation and hygiene can cause — (type of malnutrition)

undernutrition

Feces found in fluids, fingers, flies, field/floors can be found on — which may be consumed and cause various issues

food

WASH interventions was implemented to reduce:

1. Diarrhea

2. Intestinal parasites

3. Environmental enteropathy (gut disease caused from poor sanitation)

WASH is linked to children — and —

Morbidity

Mortality

—% of diarrhea-related deaths in children are due to inadequate —

60

WASH

While improved WASH can prevent diarrhea,— supplements can also reduce mortality for a child experiencing an acute diarrhea episode 

zinc

— in — people lack access to an improved drinking water source 

1

11

Improved sources of drinking water includes:

1. Piped water into homes

2. Public taps

3. Tube well or boreholes (holes/well made in the ground to locate water)

4. Protected wells or springs 

5. Rainwater collection (can be stored until used)

Even improved sources of drinking water can be —

contaminated

What is a gender issue when it comes to water?

What can this cause?

When water isn’t on premises and needs to be collected, women and girls spend hours to collect water 

Cause limited education and work

— in — people don’t have access to an improved sanitation facility

1

3

Improved sanitation facilities includes:

1. Flush toilet

2. Septic tank (underground container the treats household wastewater)

3. Flush pit la-trine (a communal toilet)

4. Composting toilet 

About —% of global population engages in open defecation 

13

Open defecation is the highest in —

India

Open defecation is associated with:

1. Increased infant mortality

2. Reduced cognitive development

3. Stunting in children

Open defecation trend?

Decreased

Most people without a latrine do without as it’s a —, thus even if they can afford to build one, —

social norms

they wouldn’t use it 

If governments built latrines for everyone who did not have one, most people who currently defecate in the open would —

continue to defecate in the open

India implemented strategies to reduce open defecation, such as — campaign

What was the key message?

What did this cause?

“No toilet, No bride” campaign

Women should be able to use a latrine in privacy and security, thus this encouraged girls families to demand a latrine of boys families before marriage

An increase in latrine ownership among families with boys of marriage age

India implemented a program called — to reduce open defecation

This results in?

To reduce what?

What did they use to promote this initiative?

Swachh Baharat Abhiyan

Millions of toilets to be built

To reduce outbreaks of acute diarrhea

cricket players to spread the message about hygiene and sanitation, aiming to build a social movement for toilet use

—% of people worldwide wash hands after contacted with feces

19

Poor hygiene contributed significantly to — + —

disease transmission

child mortality 

What is the issue in Kibera in regards of urban slums?

• Poorism, which is tourism where visitors tour urban slums to obscure poverty

• This is criticized by locals as they feel exploited and objectified

• Tour operators defense against this is they claim to show that slum residents are hardworking, clean, and normal but face limited opportunities

What is voluntourism?

Volunteering abroad with an aim to make a positive contribution

What are the strengths of voluntourism?

1. Cultural exchanges 

2. Increase global awareness 

3. Tourism provides economic opportunities 

4. Volunteer is trained and can be helpful 

What are the limitations of voluntourism?

1. White saviourism

2. Short-term impact 

3. May take opportunities away from locals 

4. Volunteer that is inexperienced may not be helpful 

5. Inadequate supervision