Vulnerability to Food Insecurity in Urban Slums: Experiences from Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Food and nutrition security is critical for economic development due to the role of nutrition in healthy growth and human capital development. Slum residents, already grossly affected by chronic poverty, are highly vulnerable to different forms of shocks, including those arising from political instability. This study describes the food security situation among slum residents in Nairobi, with specific focus on vulnerability associated with the 2007/2008 postelection crisis in Kenya. The study from which the data is drawn was nested within the Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System (NUHDSS), which follows about 70,000 individuals from close to 30,000 households in two slums in Nairobi, Kenya. The study triangulates data from qualitative and quantitative sources. It uses qualitative data from 10 focus group discussions with community members and 12 key-informant interviews with community opinion leaders conducted in November 2010, and quantitative data involving about 3,000 households randomly sampled from the NUHDSS database in three rounds of data collection between March 2011 and January 2012. Food security was defined using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) criteria. The study found high prevalence of food insecurity; 85 % of the households were food insecure, with 50 % being severely food insecure. Factors associated with food security include level of income, source of livelihood, household size, dependence ratio; illness, perceived insecurity and slum of residence. The qualitative narratives highlighted household vulnerability to food insecurity as commonplace but critical during times of crisis. Respondents indicated that residents in the slums generally eat for bare survival, with little concern for quality. The narratives described heightened vulnerability during the 2007/2008 postelection violence in Kenya in the perception of slum residents. Prices of staple foods like maize flour doubled and simultaneously household purchasing power was eroded due to worsened unemployment situation. The use of negative coping strategies to address food insecurity such as reducing the number of meals, reducing food variety and quality, scavenging, and eating street foods was prevalent. In conclusion, this study describes the deeply intertwined nature of chronic poverty and acute crisis, and the subsequent high levels of food insecurity in urban slum settings. Households are extremely vulnerable to food insecurity; the situation worsening during periods of crisis in the perception of slum residents, engendering frequent use of negative coping strategies. Effective response to addressing vulnerability to household food insecurity among the urban poor should focus on both the underlying vulnerabilities of households due to chronic poverty and added impacts of acute crises.

The effect of education on household food security in two informal urban settlements in Kenya: a longitudinal analysis

“…Using longitudinal data spanning 6 years from households in two informal settlements in Nairobi, we observed high levels of food insecurity -only 27 % of households were food secure. Levels of food insecurity were nearly threefold that of the national average of 26 % in 2013 (Dietz et al 2014) and consistent with previous studies conducted in the same context (Faye et al 2011;Kimani-Murage et al 2014) and in other contexts (Musyoka et al 2010;Birhane et al 2014). Urban agriculture is limited and urban households, including the poor, depend on food supplies from rural areas and the ability to pay in a cash-based economy (Kimani-Murage et al 2014).…”

“…Levels of food insecurity were nearly threefold that of the national average of 26 % in 2013 (Dietz et al 2014) and consistent with previous studies conducted in the same context (Faye et al 2011;Kimani-Murage et al 2014) and in other contexts (Musyoka et al 2010;Birhane et al 2014). Urban agriculture is limited and urban households, including the poor, depend on food supplies from rural areas and the ability to pay in a cash-based economy (Kimani-Murage et al 2014). The first three years were characterized by high levels of food insecurity and coincided with the post-election period in 2008 that was marked by political turmoil and the hunger strikes of 2007-2008 due to increased world food prices and inflation.…”

“…This led to increased inflation, with the most hard hit being those of low socio-economic status. Qualitative narratives also reported the state of food security as being severe during the crises that affected the economy (Kimani-Murage et al 2014). Moreover, in Kenya, droughts are characterized by loss of livestock, especially among the pastoral communities, and a decline in food production which affects supply and hence increases prices.…”

Adaptive Governance and Market Heterogeneity: An Institutional Analysis of an Urban Food System in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Research shows that African urban households from all socioeconomic classes may obtain as much as 90% of their calories from purchased food [27] and spend as much as 50% of their income on food [12]. Urban food security is more integrated in global and regional economies when compared to rural areas, which benefits and burdens urban food security.…”

“…A survey of more than 3000 households in two slums in Nairobi, Kenya-a part of the wider Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System, which involved 70,000 individuals within nearly 30,000 households-found that 85% of households were food insecure and 50% were severely food insecure [11]. Additional research from South Africa has found that 80% of poor urban dwellers in Cape Town can be classified as moderately or severely food insecure [12]. Similarly, a recent survey from Tamale, Ghana, a regional capital with fewer than 250,000 residents, found that more than 50% of respondents were mildly to severely food insecure [13].…”