Nutritional Crisis Grips Nairobi’s Informal Settlements

People living in Nairobi’s informal settlements are experiencing a severe nutritional and health crisis due to food insecurity and poor diet quality.

According to recent research by African Cities Research Consortium, 85 per cent of households in these settlements experience food insecurity, forcing many families to rely on low-quality diets that lack essential nutrients.

Households in informal settlements spend between 40 per cent and 70 per cent of their monthly incomes on food, leaving little room for savings or other essentials. High food prices have driven families to prioritize affordability over nutrition, leading to widespread consumption of cheap, processed foods instead of healthier options like fresh vegetables and proteins.

“We don’t take a healthy diet because our income is low. As long as I get half a kilogram of maize flour and some vegetables, I am good to go,” one Mathare resident told researchers.

The consequences of poor nutrition are evident in the rising prevalence of both communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Malnutrition-related conditions such as stunting, wasting, and underweight are widespread among children in informal settlements.

Additionally, NCDs such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are becoming more common, particularly among adults. Research shows that almost 25 per cent of adult deaths in Nairobi’s informal settlements between 2008 and 2017 were due to NCDs.

One of the most promising interventions to tackle malnutrition is Nairobi County’s school feeding initiative, “Dishi na County.” Launched in August 2023, the program aims to provide 400,000 meals daily to children in public primary schools and early childhood development centers (ECDs).

Parents contribute Sh10 per meal, making it an affordable option for many families. However, the program does not extend to private schools, which many children in informal settlements attend, leaving a significant portion of the population without access to daily nutritious meals.

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Several factors limit the uptake of healthy diets in Nairobi’s informal settlements. The high cost of nutritious food is the primary barrier, but other challenges include a lack of access to clean water, inadequate sanitation, and limited healthcare facilities. Informal food vendors play a crucial role in providing affordable meals, but many operate without proper hygiene standards, increasing the risk of foodborne diseases.

Experts argue that a multi-sectoral approach is needed to improve nutrition and health outcomes in Nairobi. Some of the proposed solutions include expanding the school feeding program to include private schools in informal settlements, strengthening healthcare services to provide better treatment for malnutrition and NCDs, encouraging urban farming initiatives to promote access to fresh vegetables, and implementing policies that regulate food prices and improve the affordability of healthy diets.