Child health is perhaps one of the most poignant indicators of vulnerability amongst the urban poor. Children in Nairobi’s slums are among the unhealthiest in the country. Over half are likely to suffer acute respiratory infection and almost half under the age of 5 are stunted. Moreover, they are less likely to be immunized than children elsewhere in Kenya, and more prone to diarrhea and fever.

 “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.” 

(Psalm 12:5)

Headed by the Charity & Social Welfare Director, the division handles all matters pertaining to charity and communal well-being to uplift the living standards of the poor - with focus on urban poverty - in Africa and Latin America. 

The division has developed extensive measures to help reduce the severity of poverty and to uplift the living conditions of the urban poor. To effectively execute its mandate, it enlists the assistance of churches, other charity organizations and volunteers. Most of the ground personnel the division is working with are from a network of churches, which also enhances evangelism. 

The division's operations are based on love and compassion for the needy, and it functions through the following programs:

Education Program

Health Program

Feeding Program

Widows & Orphans Program

Economic Empowerment Program

Senior Citizens Program

THE URBAN POVERTY SITUATION IN KENYA: SUMMARY

Despite the fact that there is still a higher number of poor people in the countryside than in Kenya’s cities, poor urban-dwellers face an alarming (and growing) range of vulnerabilities. While according to some indicators, urban poverty appears to be less severe than rural poverty - and even improving. But in actual sense, many statistics mask the harsh reality of life for the very poorest urban-dwellers in Kenya. High levels of urban food-poverty and soaring inequalities are all the more alarming - given that Kenya is projected to be 50% urbanized by 2020.

While the proportion of Kenya’s urban population living in ‘absolute poverty’ has declined over the past decade, this conceals the fact that the percentage share of the very poorest urban groups – defined as the ‘food poor’ and ‘hardcore poor’ – has actually been increasing. Today, there are over 4 million urban food-poor in Kenya, almost a third of whom are located in Nairobi City alone. The city currently has a population of about 3.5 million, of which 60% (about 2 million) are living in settlements classified as slums. The levels of inequality in the city are dangerously high - with negative implications for both human security and economic development.

“He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given.”

(Proverbs 19:17)

A section of Kibera Slums, Nairobi

“For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’ “
(Deuteronomy 15:11)

Quick Facts on the Urban Poor in Nairobi City

• The housing conditions of the urban poor are often deplorable. A high percentage of the dwellings are constructed of semi-permanent materials, and many of them are severely dilapidated and over-crowded. While a high-income area of Nairobi such as Karen or a middle-income area such as Parklands can have population densities as low as 4 or 25 persons per hectare respectively, in a slum like Kibera, population density can be as high as 800 persons per hectare.

• Lack of waste management and disposal in the slums breeds disease and contributes to poor drainage, exacerbating the risk of urban floods, which is also being heightened by climate change.

• The poorest urban dwellers spend up to ¾ of their income on staple foods alone. Besides, dramatic price increases for basic necessities have led a majority of slum dwellers to decrease the frequency and size of their meals, and many deploy negative coping strategies, including high-risk livelihoods such as sex work and crime, as well as removing children from school for child labor.

• Most slum dwellers feel at risk from crime and violence in their settlements, and this sense of insecurity is worsened by the insecurity of tenure and the threat of eviction under which many of the urban poor live.

• Women in the slums are almost 5 times as likely as men to be unemployed.

• Relative to rural areas, ‘social capital’ is thought to be weak in Nairobi, and consequently, people do not have the same kin and support networks.

• The urban poor are also particularly vulnerable to poor governance, given the regularity of interactions between residents and state actors in cities and the consequent pressure to pay a range of bribes and fines just to get by.

• The poor commonly pay eight times as much as the rich for water, as they are forced to buy from private vendors in the slums, where almost 90% of the population have no piped water connection.

• Proper accessibility, to allow for the free flow of goods and services into and out of the slums, is also lacking. When it rains, residents are often forced to contend with severe mud, wet, putrid garbage and flowing sewage. 

• Child health is perhaps one of the most poignant indicators of vulnerability amongst the urban poor. Children in Nairobi’s slums are among the unhealthiest in the country. Over half are likely to suffer acute respiratory infection and almost half under the age of 5 are stunted. Moreover, they are less likely to be immunized than children elsewhere in Kenya, and more prone to diarrhoea and fever. 

• While primary school enrollment is marginally higher in urban areas, after the age of 15, far fewer boys and girls attend school in Nairobi and other urban areas than in the rural areas. This has significant impacts as urban poverty has been shown to be inversely related to levels of education of household heads.  And in most Nairobi slums, there may be as few as two private schools and no public ones.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me…Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:35-40)

 “Blessed is he who considers the poor; the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed on the earth.”
(Psalm 41:1-2)

• Africa is by far the poorest continent on the planet. 28 of the world’s poorest countries are African.

• Sub-Saharan Africa is home to the second largest population of hungry people. The largest is in Asia.

• Half of the African population lives in poverty - with no access to basic human needs, such as nutrition, clean water, shelter and more. 47% of the African population is living on $1.90 or less a day.

• Two in five African adults are illiterate. While the continent’s number of schools are increasing, the quality of learning and general attendance is still down due to local violence and gender oppression.

• It is projected that the global poor will become more concentrated in Africa. With the population rising at such a high rate on the continent, and having such a large number of poverty-stricken countries, it becomes very difficult to prevent increasing poverty.

• One in four people in the sub-Saharan region is malnourished. This is the highest amount of hungry people in the world.

• The causes of African hunger are poverty, conflict, the environment and overpopulation. These causes create issues such as disease, floods, genocide and many other crises.

• Corruption on the continent makes it very difficult to conquer the poverty numbers. With governments confiscating donations from abroad, local militias slaughtering villagers and cultural leaders denying women the right and safety to attend school, poverty perpetuates.

• While worldwide poverty is declining — it has been divided in half in the last 30 years — in Africa, the progress has been much slower. This is largely due to the rising population and the young age of its government systems, stemming from a history of colonization.

• Most of the perpetuation of poverty involves social issues. It is less a matter of wealth, as it is with how the wealth is distributed and shared.

• The African governments have not existed for very long. Even in 1950, only four of the 55 African countries had independent governments. Studies state that a government requires several decades to stabilize.

• The economic gap is huge and still growing. The class system contains huge gaps between the rich and poor, with little mobility due to gender inequality and corruption.

• Those living in regions affected by violence are 50% more likely to become impoverished. This makes them twice as likely to be affected by hunger. Much of Africa is war-torn and experiencing conflict.

• The average woman living in sub-Saharan Africa will give birth to 5.2 kids in her lifetime. While Africa is globally the poorest continent, it is also home to the highest birth rate. With a growing population, this is causing unemployment, disease and hunger.

“The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers in desolate heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.”

 (Isaiah 41:17)

 "He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap."

(Psalm 113:7) 

Latin Americans account for 130 million of the nearly 500 million who live in chronic poverty worldwide. Poverty rates vary from country to country in the Latin American region. With estimated poverty rates floating around 10 %, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile have the lowest chronic poverty rates.

Latin America has generally attracted more foreign investment than Africa or Asia, but this often makes countries reliant on unstable short-term North American speculative foreign investment (Africa and Asia have mostly attracted less foreign investment but with more of it being stable longer-term European investment). Allied with expensive high-interest rate aid loans, this has made escaping poverty very difficult for many Latin American governments. 

Poor Latin Americans lack access to basic health care services. Approximately 20 % of the Latin American and Caribbean population lack access to health care due to their poverty conditions. The region also has high rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity and cancer.

• One in five Latin Americans live in chronic poverty conditions. Latin Americans account for 130 million of the nearly 500 million who live in chronic poverty worldwide.
• Poverty rates vary from country to country in the Latin American region. With estimated poverty rates floating around 10 %, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile have the lowest chronic poverty rates. Meanwhile, Nicaragua with 37 % and Guatemala with 50 % have the highest chronic poverty rates in Latin America, which are well above the regional average of 21 %.

• Poverty rates can also vary within a country. A single country can have both ends of the spectrum, with the highest poverty rate that is eight times higher than the lowest. For example, Brazil has a chronic poverty rate of 5 % in Santa Catarina, but 40 %  in Ceará.

• Poverty in Latin America encompasses both urban and rural areas. Most assume that rural areas have higher poverty rates than urban areas, like in Bolivia, where the amount of people living in rural poverty is 20 % higher than those living in urban poverty. However, the number of the urban poor is higher than the number of rural poor in Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and the Dominican Republic.

• Poor Latin Americans lack access to basic health care services. Approximately 20 % of the Latin American and Caribbean population lack access to health care due to their poverty conditions. The region also has high rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity and cancer.

• Those living in poverty in Latin America lack access to safe water and sanitation. The World Water Council reported that 77 million people lack access to safe water or live without a water source in their homes. Of the 77 million, 51 million live in rural areas and 26 million live in urban areas. An estimated 256 million rely on latrines and septic tanks as an alternative to basic sanitation.

• The lack of education in Latin America lowers prospects of rising out of poverty. One in 12 young people ages 15 to 24 have not completed primary school, and therefore lack the skills necessary to find decent jobs. The same age group represents 40 % of the total number of unemployed in many Latin American countries. When they are employed, six out of 10 jobs are informal, lacking decent wages, contract agreements and social security rights.

• Limited economic opportunities keep the poor in poverty. The biggest factor that led to poverty reduction from 2004-2012 was labor income. 

• Chronic poverty levels are falling. Between 2000 and 2014, the number of Latin Americans living on under $4 a day decreased from 45 % to 25 %. The Latin American population living on $2.5 per day fell from 28 % to 14 %.

• The falling poverty levels in Latin America can be attributed to improved public policy. Latin American governments created conditional cash transfers (CCT), which substituted subsidies for money transfers for the poor who invested in human capital beginning in the late 1990s. As a result, child attendance in schools has risen and families have more food and more diversity in diets.

“Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, who write misfortune, which they have prescribed to rob the needy of justice, and to take what is right from the poor of My people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless.

(Isaiah 10:1-2)

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