Archive for category: Developing Countries

Information and stories about developing countries.

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Facts and Figures in Uganda


Poverty reduction efforts depend on data. To improve lives in Uganda, it is important to know the facts and figures in Uganda that affect the population every day.

Commonly referred to as “the Pearl of Africa,” Uganda has a population of approximately 39 million people and borders Kenya, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania. The following are important facts and figures in Uganda:

  1. The average fertility rate is 5.8 children per woman and results from a lack of sex education, family planning services and contraception use as well as the cultural support for large families.
  2. There is a high maternal mortality rate of 343 deaths per 1,000 live births due to a high number of births per woman, short birth intervals and early pregnancy Uganda’s infant mortality rate ranks twenty-first in the world at 57.6 deaths per 1,000 live births.
  3. Uganda has a high population of children. Newborns to those aged 14 make up almost half of the country. About 14.1% of children under five years old are underweight.
  4. The primary education gross enrollment rate is 101.1% but, during secondary school, significantly drops to 26%.
  5. About 7.1% of the adult population (ages 15 to 49) have HIV. Uganda ranks tenth in the world for the highest prevalence rate, seventh for most people living with HIV/AIDS, and tenth for most HIV/AIDS-related deaths.
  6. About 52% of Ugandans have mobile phone subscriptions, and 19.2% have internet access.
  7. In the labor force, 71.9% participate in agriculture, 4.4% in industry and 23.7% in services. However, agriculture accounts for 24.5% of the GDP, industry accounts for 21%, and services account for 54.4%.
  8. The Lord’s Resistance Army, active since 1987, continues to terrorize the country and hold children captive as child soldiers.
  9. About 19.1% of the population lives with improved sanitation facilities, and 79% has access to improved water sources. The rates are typically better in urban settings as oppose to rural areas.
  10. The life expectancy at birth is 59 years of age.

Many of these facts and figures in Uganda have improved over the years as Uganda has worked to meet Millennium Development Goals. For example, the United Nations reported that the percent of the rural population with access to improved drinking water increased from 52 percent in 2001/02 to 72 percent in 2012/13 and most recently to 79 percent. In addition, the country has reduced income poverty by two-thirds, an accomplishment that was five years ahead of schedule. But, Uganda is not stopping there; the country still has the opportunity and plans to make many more strides to aid poverty-reduction efforts.

– Francesca Montalto

Photo: Flickr

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How Foreign Aid Can Solve Instability in the Sahel Region

Instability in Sahel
The Sahel region is a large transition zone in Africa between the Sahara and Southern Africa. The countries surrounding this belt include Sudan, Niger, Nigeria, Mali and Chad. According to the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), more than 100 million people will inhabit the region by the year 2020, and 200 million will live there by 2050. With such a huge influx of people in this land, the poverty-related problems and instability in the Sahel region need to be addressed.

News outlet Africa Renewal reported that in 2012, 18 million people suffered during a major food crisis in the Sahel region. Just the next year, 11 million were experiencing hunger, more than 10 percent of them being children.

In a press release published by the U.N. in June, U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed spoke to the joint Economic and Social Council-Peacebuilding Commission on the instability in the Sahel region. He claims that the Sahel region continues to deteriorate due to lack of government and harsh climate conditions; these countries sit right above the equator.

Currently, more than 30 million people in the Sahel region struggle with food insecurity. Terrorism affects many more citizens, driving out law enforcement and government forces. “Efforts to address [this] should be closely coordinated with the work of the United Nations Development Group and the Resident Coordinators of Sahel countries,” stated Mohammed. Not only is he calling for action, but Mohammed explains that action is already being taken.

The U.N. Security Council is deploying a G5 Sahel joint force of 5,000 military and police personnel to collaborate with another military in the area, such as the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Together, they will continue to protect citizens and suppress terrorist violence.

Mohammed closed his address by stating, “the Secretary-General, his senior management and I, myself, are committed to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the United Nations response to crises around the world.”

However, the U.N. isn’t the only organization committed to helping the Sahel region. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funds CILSS with around $3.4 million annually. Their mission, as stated on the USAID website, is “to devote efforts towards the search for food security and combating the effects of drought and desertification for a new ecological balance in the Sahel.”

The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and many organizations are working to end instability in the Sahel region. With the objective of government reform, we will hopefully see goals reached before the end of 2030.

– Vicente Vera

Photo: Flickr

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What is Food Assistance for Assets and How Does it Work?


More than 10% of the world’s population does not have regular access to food and 50% of these families are farmers. The majority of hungry people live in Asian and African countries. Countries with higher natural disaster rates are not able to access food regularly, due to the destruction of their communities and farmlands. The World Food Programme began the Food Assistance for Assets (FFA) program and other programs like it to help combat this issue. FFA focuses on restoring land and rebuilding communities while assisting people in need, but many people have never heard of it.

Food Assistance for Assets is a program that feeds people and works through them to rehabilitate suffering communities. Through this program, people are given work, such as building and repairing bridges and roads. In return, they gain two things. First, they are paid so that they can buy food for themselves and their families. In addition, the work that they have done helps strengthen and develop their communities, many of which have fallen victim to natural disasters.

While this program may seem to only benefit individuals, it has helped larger communities as well. FFA programs exist in 52 countries, where 10.1 million people have received help from the program. Rehabilitation programs include building water wells and planting trees to restore forests.

These facts help shed light on the impact of the Food Assistance for Assets programs and emphasizes the work that this program does to provide food to people around the world. There is enough food produced in the world to feed everyone, but without programs like FFA, many people are unable to access or pay for enough food to feed their families. Several organizations, including the U.N., hope that through assistance programs such as the FFA and through the increased sustainability of food, world hunger will be eradicated by 2030.

– Helen Barker

Photo: Flickr

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Life Expectancy in Low-Income Countries On the Rise


The average life expectancy in low-income countries is increasing dramatically. This change can be attributed to increased access to health aid programs.

The increase in life expectancy is a global trend; technology and medical research are beginning to offer solutions to once-fatal conditions. A study by the Imperial College of London anticipates that global life expectancy will experience an overall increase by 2030.

However, the rate of improvement is particularly dramatic within low-income countries that have historically low life expectancies. While wealthy countries such as the United States are experiencing a plateau in life expectancy, sub-Saharan Africa’s average life expectancy has increased by eight years since 2002. In 1960, life expectancy in the region hovered at 40. Now, individuals can expect to reach an average of 59 years of age.

This sharp incline in life expectancy of low-income countries is attributed to a greater access to aid programs and organizations than ever before. A Stanford study found that countries receiving the most health aid gained five or more years in average life expectancy. In 140 low-income countries, access to public and private health aid programs between 1974 and 2010 rapidly increased life expectancy across the board.

Health aid has a high impact in low-income regions because many of the leading causes of death are easily preventable or treatable. Vaccines have all but wiped out the most deadly diseases in children including tetanus, polio and measles. For every billion dollars spent on health aid, around 364,800 deaths of children under five are prevented. Because child mortality rates bring down the average age of death dramatically, countries such as Brazil have gained over 33 added years of life expectancy simply by offering these vaccines. Improved sanitation methods, medical services and access to food and water can also be credited for the success of aid in increasing life expectancy in low-income countries. Malnutrition, which can lead to an array of other medical conditions, was the leading risk factor for death worldwide in 1990; it has now fallen to number eight on the list.

With the shift away from infectious diseases and malnutrition as the primary killers in low-income countries, there has been an emergence of diseases familiar to wealthier countries such as cancer and heart disease. However, because these diseases happen at a much lower rate and tend to develop later in life, life expectancy in low-income countries continues to rise.

Since life expectancy is a reliable indicator of health levels in a particular region, the success of health aid in recent years is remarkable. Aid programs continue to improve life expectancy in low-income countries by allowing greater access to health resources.

– Kailey Dubinsky

Photo: Flickr

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How to Provide Access to Clean Water In Innovative Ways


One in nine people worldwide have little access to clean water, and, in developing countries, 80 percent of illnesses stem from unclean water and lack of sanitation. Water is the most integral component required to sustain human life, and in 2010, the United Nations General Assembly recognized clean drinking water and sanitation as an essential human right. Here are five innovative new ways organizations and people are working on the problem of how to provide access to clean water throughout the world:

The OmniProcessor

Invented by Peter Janicki and his team at Janicki BioEnergy, the OmniProcessor is a machine that can convert 14 tons of sewage into water and electricity. The OmniProcessor can have an enormous impact on the two billion people on the planet who cannot properly dispose of waste. This waste eventually makes its way into water sources, which contaminates it and can spread diseases such as cholera and dysentery. The OmniProcessor solves both problems with one machine. Bill Gates, whose foundation gave Janicki a grant to research the OmniProcessor once stated, “If you can get thousands of these things out there, then you have ensured the people will grow up healthily.”

The SaTo Pan

This innovative toilet, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is an alternative to open defecation, and a game-changer when looking at the problem of how to provide access to clean water. The toilet is made of plastic and thus is much more affordable that other restroom alternatives.  The toilet works by closing off the pit latrine from the open air and reducing the amount of water needed to flush waste. This simple but inventive SaTo pan (the name is derived from “Safe Toilet”) prevents water from being contaminated by waste left behind by open defecation and is a sure step in the journey to provide clean water access to all.

SODIS

SODIS (Solar Water Disinfection) is a method ideal for purifying water in developing countries. All one has to do is take a clear plastic bottle, fill it with clear water and set it out in the sun for six hours or more. The UV rays in the sunlight hitting the bottles will kill viruses, bacteria and parasites that may contaminate the water, making it clean and safe to drink. SODIS is an easy, safe and inexpensive method which makes it ideal for the world’s poor.

Microloans

Another solution for the problem of how to provide access to clean water is to empower the people searching for access. Microloans are a way of doing just this, providing small loans to people who otherwise would not be approved for loans at all. According to a study done by A. M. Muazam Husain, “microcredit loans provided to women in Bangladesh increased the presence of latrines in their households from nine to 26 percent over three years.” When given the opportunity, people without clean water and proper sanitation, especially women in families with children to look after, actively seek it out.  This kind of change is sustainable because it teaches individuals to solve their problems without the help of outsiders.

The Water Project

The Water Project is an innovative non-profit that does on-the-ground work in sub-Saharan Africa to build wells, dams and systems to catch rainwater. They collaborate with in-country teams to ensure that the services they are providing are needed and sustainable.  They also regularly check in on projects they have sponsored to ensure they are going well. Anyone can contribute to the water project simply by raising awareness, fundraising or sponsoring an entire project. These sorts of organizations are an integral part of broadening access to clean water in the developing world.

In the past ten years, the world has made leaps and bounds in how to provide access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Moreover, with more investment in research, an increase in aid to nonprofit organizations and a continued commitment to finding innovative solutions to the lack of water, access to clean water is sure to become a certainty for every single person in the world.

– Adesuwa Agbonile

Photo: Flickr

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Why Is Syria Poor?

In 2007, 35 percent of Syrians lived at or below the international poverty line. As of 2017, that number lies above 80 percent. Why is Syria poor so suddenly? A large reason for this rise is the Syrian civil war, which started in 2011 sparked by pro-democracy protests and rebel forces that formed to fight the government forces led by Syria’s president. Discussed are there reasons for the rapid acceleration of poverty in Syria.

Top 6 Explanations for Syrian Poverty

  1. Inflation: Currency inflation in Syria was at 51.1 percent in August 2016 after reaching an all-time high of 121.29 percent in August 2014. When the Syrian government began running out of money due to the high cost of war, it printed more and more money to pay their debt. When asking, “Why is Syria poor?” inflation is an inevitable answer. It makes cash lose much of its value, and, as a result, millions of people in Syria have lost their life savings. Businesses have had to close because it is impossible to trade with foreign markets, and food prices have become unaffordable. This means less overall economic security for the Syrian people.
  2. Healthcare: The civil war has decimated healthcare infrastructure in Syria over the past six years. In 2016 alone there were almost 200 attacks on healthcare providers, and forces on both sides have prevented citizens from accessing healthcare as a war tactic. Because of this, diseases such as typhoid, tuberculosis and cholera are becoming endemic again in Syria. Poverty is inextricably tied to healthcare access, and, when a country’s public health system begins to fail, it is much more difficult for people to escape poverty.
  3. Unemployment: Largely due to inflation, many Syrian businesses and industries have closed. Over 50 percent of the labor force is currently unemployed. This creates massive economic insecurity for millions of Syrians Without money, most are unable to access basic human needs such as food, water and shelter. Why is Syria poor? A large reason is a lack of employment opportunities.
  4. Infrastructure: Much of Syria’s basic infrastructure has been lost because of the war. According to the United Nations Development Program, “the supply of electricity and water [in Syria] is unpredictable and major roads are impassable due to destruction or fighting…All of this has aggravated the socio-economic plight of the population.” This lack of infrastructure in Syria greatly increases the vulnerability of the poor.
  5. Education: Fifty percent of Syrian children no longer attend school, and almost half have lost up to three years of schooling. In addition, many school buildings have been destroyed. Education is one of the surest ways out of poverty, so without reliable access to education, many Syrian children are becoming a “lost generation” trapped in a cycle of poverty.
  6. Fleeing Refugees: There are nearly five million Syrians officially registered as refugees. This hurts Syria’s economy as labor flows out of the country, which in turn hurts people in Syria who are already impoverished. The unwillingness of many countries to welcome Syrian refugees further hurts people who are still in Syria because it means refugees are unable to send money to their families.

While it can be easy to get swept up in the ugliness of war, it is important to remember the human stories underneath it and recognize that the answers to the question “why is Syria poor?” present solutions. Organizations such as the UNDP currently have boots on the ground in Syria and are working to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality. In 201,6 UNDP implemented 199 local projects that helped more than 2.5 million Syrians. The World Food Programme provides emergency food assistance to 4.5 million people each month. One person can make a difference and help fight poverty in Syria, simply by calling his or her representatives and encouraging them to support legislation that accepts more refugees or provides more funding for international aid. All of these things are steps towards a less poor Syria. And so perhaps the true question is not “why is Syria poor?” but “how can I help?”

– Adesuwa Agbonile

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About the Education of Refugees


According to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than half of reported refugees, 6.1 million people, are under the age of 18. Given this large youth population, the lack of education of refugees has become a significant roadblock for these children and adolescents’ future successes. Here are 10 facts about the education of refugees at present.

10 Facts About the Education of Refugees

  1. The UNHCR reported in 2016 that of the 6.1 million school-aged refugees, 3.7 million had no access to education. 1.75 million of these had not received a primary education, and 1.95 million had not received a secondary education.
  2. Comparing the education of refugees to the global average, refugees are reportedly five times less likely to attend school.
  3. The global average of children attending primary school is 91 percent, while the average for refugee children is 50 percent. Secondary school is even less likely for refugees, with an average of 22 percent attending, where the global average is 84 percent. Only one percent of refugees receive a college- or university-level education. This global average is 34 percent.
  4. The education of refugees became more difficult when the refugee population grew by 30 percent in 2014 and is predicted to continue growing. The UNHCR predicts the need for 12,000 additional classrooms and 20,000 additional teachers annually.
  5. Refugees are displaced from their home country for an average 20 years. Because this exceeds school-age and because the education of refugees is difficult, the potential for refugee children and adolescents to access education is minimal.
  6. Of the 3.7 million out-of-school refugees, more than half come from Chad, Jordan, Turkey, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Lebanon.
  7. Long-term conflict tends to reverse positive trends in education. For example, 94 percent of Syrian children in 2009 received an education, but this number dropped to 60 percent in 2016.
  8. Progress has been made towards the education of refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq and Turkey through an increase in encouraging school enrollment and reinforcing the “double-shift system.” This means that two groups of students receive schooling at different times with the same faculty. A lack of funding threatens this system’s future as the uneducated refugee population increases.
  9. The education of refugees is primarily covered by emergency funds rather than long-term programs. Given the current refugee crisis, sustainable funding is crucial for the education of refugees.
  10. There are a number of potential solutions to the refugee education crisis. The main three proposed solutions are accelerated education programs, online courses and expanding vocational training. Each of these is promising because they offer the flexibility that makes school attendance a realistic option.

Education has the potential to provide a safe haven for refugees and may even prevent future conflict, but the education of refugees will require systematic changes to become sustainably successful.

– Haley Hurtt

Photo: Flickr

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Engineers Without Borders Creates Accessible Drinking Water

Accessible Drinking Water
Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is an organization of 16,800 volunteers who hope to give worldwide communities the opportunity to sustainably meet basic human needs. They install footbridges to accommodate travel, solar panels to facilitate energy and light and, in a world where one in 10 people don’t have accessible drinking water, Engineers Without Borders is implementing technology that can help. Here are six places where EWB is bringing water to those who need it most.

Cyanika, Rwanda

This northern community rests near the country’s border with Uganda, and for many villages, the closest accessible drinking water is kilometers away. Women and children make multiple trips to collect water, and when they arrive they must pay for their water, often leaving them with the decision of choosing between hunger or dehydration. They wait in line, sometimes only to realize that the well is dry. Engineers Without Borders has installed three unique community rainwater catchment systems, two single tank systems and one system of four tanks in the larger town of Munini. In Gasebeya and Nyarotosho, the single-tank systems save an average of 11 hours that would usually be spent collecting water. The saved time leaves community members with opportunities for raising more livestock and developing more income, and the saved income and time also means that they can maintain the systems on their own.

Mugonero, Rwanda

Along the western border of Rwanda, Mugonero was hit incredibly hard by the 1994 genocide, with 3,000 people killed in the community. Rebuilding continues slowly but surely in this small community accessible only by a small dirt road of switchbacks. Engineers Without Border worked with L’Esperance, a local NGO in Mugonero, and despite the NGO closing in 2013, EWB’s efforts in the region have been maintained for years and continue to benefit the community. Engineers Without Borders installed three rainwater catchment tanks, a UV water treatment system and an irrigation system that drastically improved the conditions of accessible drinking water.

Amayo, Nicaragua

In Nicaragua, 800,000 people do not have access to safe drinking water, leaving 37 percent of rural communities reliant on contaminated sources. EWB partnered with Potters for Peace, a U.S. nonprofit that uses clay pottery techniques to create water filters, to install 30 water filters. Accessible clean water means safer health conditions for the community, which uses the clay filters for both drinking and cooking. In addition, Potters for Peace educated locals (often rural women) on how to reproduce the water filters. This element of community engagement left Amayo highly self-sufficient and far healthier.

Jinotepe Hogar de Ancianos, Nicaragua

The Hogar Board of Directors, a local municipal body, benefitted from the reserve water system installed in Jinotepe by gaining the respect of their community. The reserve uses gravity in a 2,500-gallon tank to bring a fresh water supply to the community. Unfortunately, the tank itself has been in need of repairs since 2015, but the community feels that the current emphasis on health and the faith in the Hogar Board would be impossible without the EWB project. Accessible drinking water is now a priority of the community, thanks to the (albeit temporary) system provided by EWB, and the Board of Directors has a new confidence and dedication to provide it. Funding will remain a challenge.

Pueblo Nuevo, Nicaragua

Reaching clean water required long and frequent trips for the community members of Pueblo Nuevo. Engineers Without Borders cite the benefits of their integrated water distribution system as providing men with more time to tend to crops, children with more time to make it to school, and women with the liberation from five to six daily trips to the river. The distribution system does rely on rainwater, and so the impact it has can vary from serving 150 to 350 people. It pumps water from a hand-dug well to a holding tank, which then is distributed to three different districts. The rationing and maintenance required to benefit from the distribution system mean that the community has not only benefited from increased accessible drinking water but from increased community organization.

Guatemala

Seventeen projects are in the “implementation” phase in Guatemala, and 15 are considered “complete,” but most are still under review to evaluate their impact. The involvement of Engineers Without Borders in Guatemala is incredibly concentrated on potable water projects. These efforts comprise 58 percent of EWB’s Guatemala Project. At least five systems are considered functioning, each reaching between 350 and 1,500 people depending on the size of the community. The largest system involves 26 kilometers of pipe, and the projects have brought flowing water to every tap in the community. In addition to putting this infrastructure in place, the Guatemala projects focused on whether it was necessary to introduce a circuit rider (water technician) to the community to maintain the system. As implementation continues with new systems, Engineers Without Borders has placed an emphasis on training for pump maintenance, so that Guatemalan communities can be self-sufficient and continually have accessible drinking water.

– Brooke Clayton

Photo: Flickr

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The Role of AHGOs in Providing Humanitarian Relief

AHGOs
In the wake of the Syrian refugee crisis, a new form of relief organization has emerged, known as Ad Hoc Grassroots Organizations (AHGOs). In a study that explores their role in Lesvos, Greece, the Public Library of Science (PLOS) identified 41 AHGOs and interviewed 13 of them.

AHGOs are helpful at providing quick humanitarian relief. They are particularly potent when governments are not able to respond as quickly to disasters. According to the report done by PLOS, in the future, AHGOs should be recognized as new humanitarian actors.

These groups are created specifically to provide relief for a particular cause. AHGOs previously provided relief during the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012. In this instance, the 13 that were contacted were formed in 2015 with the intent of assisting refugees that fled the crisis in Syria, made their way over the Mediterranean, and landed in Lesvos.

Organizations are different than nonprofit organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). After they serve their purpose they are rendered ineffectual. Their expiration date might make the notion of them seem unnecessary. How might temporary ad hoc organizations be more effective at providing relief than other pre-existing organizations?

PLOS explores this notion in its article. Because of their lack of infrastructure, AHGOs provide ordinary people who want to help by responding to disasters. Many volunteers working in Lesvos were there because they expressed a simple desire to help and were surprised that more aid had not already been sent by the United Nations and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs).

Volunteers working with AHGOs in Lesvos expressed that their lack of structure could also be negative. The volunteers tended to take the form of paramedics, nurses, and those experienced in the wilderness. Despite the skills that the volunteers brought with them, many were ill-prepared for refugee care.

However, on the positive side, AHGOs have the ability to reach surge capacity quickly. Surge capacity, in a humanitarian context, is defined as “the ability of an organization to rapidly and effectively increase its available resources in a specific geographic location.” The Humanitarian Practice Network defines surge capacity as the ability to “scale operations [people, money, and materials] up swiftly, smoothly and productively.”

Reports on standard INGOs express their inability to reach surge capacity. Therefore, the AHGO’s ability to reach surge capacity is favorable. It further demonstrates the speedy effectiveness of grassroots movements. Humanitarian aid can benefit from the buffed and nuanced structure of longstanding INGOs as well as the small-scale potency of AHGOs.

– Rebeca Ilisoi

Photo: Flickr

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Poor Living Conditions for Those Who Live in Slums

Live in Slums
Between 2000 and 2014, the percentage of the urban population in developing countries who lived in slums decreased from 39 percent to 30 percent.  While these statistics are encouraging, the bottom line is that the number of people living in slums continues to grow. Globally, 828 million people live in slums today. This fact means that one in eight people in the world suffers from poor living conditions.

A slum, as defined by United Nations Habitat, is a household that may suffer one or more of the following conditions: lack of access to water protected from outside contamination, lack of access to sanitation facilities that separate human waste from human contact and lack of adequate living area (more than three people living in one room of four square meters minimum).  These conditions also include a lack of housing durability (the structure must be on non-hazardous land and must be able to withstand extremes in climate) and a lack of security of tenure (protection by the state to ensure the unlawful eviction of inhabitants of homes).

For the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities. However, urban areas only account for three percent of the earth’s land. Over 90 percent of urban growth is occurring in developing nations. The increase of people living in cities can predictably rise to 60 percent in 2030 and to 66 percent by 2050.

There are approximately 200,000 slums throughout the world. Mexico City is the home to the largest slum in the world. The Neza-chalco-Itza province began developing in the early 1900s and today houses roughly four million people. A younger slum in Karachi, Pakistan is only ten years old and houses 1.5 million citizens over 22 square miles.

Some other large slums include Mumbai, India, where Dharavi houses one million people in one square mile. The slum of Khayelitsha began after abolishing apartheid in South Africa and grew since the 1980s to 2.4 million people. Fifty percent of its inhabitants are under 19 years old. Kibera, the second largest slum in Africa, has the highest population of more than 200 slum dwellings located in Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi. 2.5 million people dispersed amongst these 200 slum dwellings represent only six percent of the land in the city. Kibera houses 250,000 of these people.

Urbanization is a key focus under the United Nation’s Sustainability Development Goals. The eleventh goal on this list is to make cities and human settlements more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The task of establishing anti-poverty measures and reducing global poverty can improve the urban areas where the slums reside. When the poor no longer have to live in slums, their quality of life will improve.

– Jene Cates

Photo: Flickr