Posted: July 3rd, 2015

Nutrition is one of the major factors and parameters that are used to determine the level of social and economic developments of all nations across the world

Introduction

The problem of under-nutrition is very prevalent in Kenyan slums like Kibera and Mathare among other slums. The problems of under-nutrition among children who are under five years of age are usually recognized through several diverse signs and symptoms. The manifestations of under-nutrition in Kenyan slums include stunted growth, compromised physical and mental growth and development, high vulnerability to many infections, low rate of children admissions into schools and poor productivity (Wells, 2000).

Psychosocial Factors

Nutrition is one of the major factors and parameters that are used to determine the level of social and economic developments of all nations across the world inclusive of Kenya. It is very important for children to obtain proper diet in their early childhood so that they can register healthy growth, avoidance of malfunction of body systems, strong body defense mechanism, as well as proper neurological and psychological developments (Beers & Berkow, 2004; Meenakshi, Johnson, Manyong, DeGroote, Javelosa, Yanggen, & Meng, 2010)

According to the research that was currently done on the Nairobi’s main slums; Kibera, Korogocho, Mathare and Soweto in Kayole, it was established that there is high mortality and morbidity rate of the under five children in such areas because of nutrition problems. Most researches have established that under-nutrition in Kenyan slums is the major factor that contributes to improper developments of the under five children hence leading to negative repercussions (Bejon, Mwangi, Atkinson, Osier, Peshu & Berkley, 2008).

Some of the major conditions that have been associated with poor nutrition of under-five children in the Kenyan slums include malaria, typhoid, anaemia, sepsis, pneumonia and mental health conditions like ADHD. It has been noted that the prevalence of the underweight children particularly in the slums within Nairobi is among the highest across the whole globe. There are three major forms of manifestations of under-nutrition as was noted by KEMRI CDC on Kibera slum residents in Nairobi. First, the loss of body weight and the body mass index in general gives a clear indication of acute under-nutrition while stunted growth whereby children become dwarfs indicates a chronic under-nutrition. The manifestation of underweight among under-five children gives a combined indicator for both chronic and acute under-nutrition (Kabubo-Mariara, Ndenge & Mwabu, 2009; Wilson, 2014).

In accordance with the report released by WHO_UNICEF in the year 2012, it was approximated that around 162 million children who are under five have stunted growth, around 99 million are underweight, and around 51 million are thin and emaciated in the global sense. The report went further to state that more than 50 percent of the infected and affected children comes from developing world especially Africa and Asian continents. It was noted that the problem of under-nutrition in Kibera and Mathare slums in Nairobi needs to be addressed given the fact that the [prevalence of the medical condition is extremely high in the two areas.

In accordance with the report released by National Health family Survey-3 taking the perspective of Kenya among children who are under five of age, approximately 48% are dwarfs, 43% are underweight, and 20% are emaciated and wasted. Around 24% and 16% are chronically stunted and underweight respectively. The slums of Nairobi such as Kariadudu, Korogocho, Kasabuni and Mathare valley have been marked as very unhealthy slums given the fact that more than 50 percent of the under five children born in such areas are underweight (Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 2010).

Some of the major characteristics that are associated with the Kenyan slums include poor housing, lack of safe domestic water, overcrowding, and poor sanitation. These problems have been greatly promoted because of high illiteracy level, ignorance, poverty, and lack of access to social amenities like health facilities by the slum dwellers. It cannot be denied that the under five children who stay in such unhealthy conditions are more vulnerable to problems associated with health and nutrition (Grigsby, 2003).

The problem of under-nutrition is a public health concern in Kenya especially in the Slums of Nairobi. Many researchers have found that more than 80 percent of the under five children in slums are immunized but this have tremendously failed to answer the problems of nutrition in the areas. Many studies have clearly shown that there is a strong link between gender and nutritional and health challenges in the Kenyan slums (World Health Organization, 2011). It has been noted that the probability of under-five boys to become wasted, stunted, and underweight is higher than that of girls in the slums of Kenya. This gives an indication that boys have lower immunity to common infections of children, which are nutritional related and therefore more emphasis should be put on them to reduce their risks and vulnerabilities (Bloss, Wainaina, & Bailey, 2004).

The absence of toilet facilities for example in slums has been identified as one of the major factors that promote stunted growth among under five children. This is because it encourages open defecation which promotes the spread of water borne disease conditions that affects the nutrition and health of the children in a much negative way. The major thing that has been identified to be promoting malnutrition of under five children in Kenyan slums is the inability of the mothers to correctly identify the nutritional needs of their children and feed them according to their cues and psychomotor abilities (Engle & Ricciuti, 1995; Robertson, Mandlhate, El Din & Seck, 2004)

It is also very important to highlight that factors that are linked to the socio-economic disparity e.g. the level of illiteracy, poor knowledge of nutritional value of each kind of food, big families, poor sanitation and poverty in general promotes high rate of malnutrition among under five children in Kenyan slums. Many studies have shown that the rate of malnutrition is approximately 2.6 times higher among families who live in abject poverty like most of the slum dwellers. The problems of nutrition in Kenyan slums have been attached by the politics of the nation (Berkley, Mwangi, Griffiths, Ahmed, Mithwani, English & Maitland, 2005).

Many researchers have accused the government to side-line the slum residents in terms of economic resource distribution, which makes them have a problem of access to social amenities like health care facilities and education. It is a fact that the government of Kenya has failed to address the overcrowding issue in slums and the chronic unemployment status, which makes the slum dwellers live from hand to mouth without caring about the lives of their young ones. It is therefore recommended that the Kenyan government should consider building schools, health facilities and other social amenities like public toilets in Kenyan slums so that the nutrition problems can be reduced which will consequently reduce the high morbidity and mortality rate of children who are under five of age in slums (Abuya, Ciera, & Kimani-Murage, 2012).

Conclusion

It is in the public domain that the prevalence of under-nutrition in the Kenyan slums is extremely high and varied from one slum to the other. The two major slums that have more nutritional problems include Kibera and Mathare in Nairobi City. It is therefore recommended that the analysis of how the risk factors are distributed should be carried out so that proper and comprehensive planning should be initiated for control measures. It should be noted that obesity or overweight is not a nutritional problem in Kenyan Slums but it is a problem with the wealthy families who resides in real estates. The obesity is a sign of wealth and healthy living in Africa and therefore it is not associated with nutritional challenges.

References

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