Urban Poverty and Vulnerability in Kenya

The urgent need for co-ordinated action to reduce urban poverty

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Summary

The face of poverty in Kenya is changing and the country is facing a new urban crisis. Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, is facing rapid urbanisation, yet the divide between rich and poor is growing wider and 60 per cent of residents now live in slums with no or limited access to even the most basic services. Urban poverty is set to be Kenya’s defining crisis over the next decade if it is not urgently addressed.

This paper looks at some of the most serious challenges facing the poorest communities in Nairobi. Household income is falling, in part due to the global economic crisis, yet the cost of essentials such as staple foods and clean water is rising. Desperate poverty is creating an underclass of millions, with crime and political tension increasing as a result.

Oxfam has begun programmes in urban Nairobi to address this crisis, and is calling on the Kenyan government and international donors to do the same.

Key recommendations

• Given the rapid pace of urbanisation in a country that will be 50 per cent urban by 2020, donors need to overcome the tendency towards disproportionate focus on rural areas by increasing aid levels to the urban poor sector, designing programmes specifically aimed at reducing the unique vulnerabilities faced by slum-dwellers
• The Government of Kenya must acknowledge the magnitude of chronic poverty in urban areas, promote good urban governance, and commit to long-term social protection programmes
• There is a need for co-ordinated, appropriate and urgent emergency response towards periodic shocks like the current food crisis in Nairobi’s unplanned settlements. Donors and the government must work towards the development and use of emergency indicators appropriate for the urban context

Oxfam GB Briefing Paper

Author: Wendy Taylor and Tom Goodfellow, Oxfam GB

Publication date: 10 September 2009