Africités 4 - Nairobi
session ss

Improving lives of slum dwellers: insights from Kenya
Les zones informelles : Pauvreté, emplois, logement et services dans les bidonvilles de Nairobi
Water and Sanitation Program - Africa
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Insights from new research on Nairobi's slums

 
  Nairobi city's Mayor and four panelists from academia, the World Bank and AFD discuss how findings from a new study on Nairobi's slums challenge conventional wisdom and shatter several “myths” regarding urban poverty and slums. Dr. Gulyani presents the results of a unique study of 1,755 slum households in Nairobi, and uses it to develop a new framework for understanding slums. She also suggests a different approach to “improving lives of slum dwellers” relevant not only in Nairobi but also other cities of the developing world.

 
  Experiences & Lessons from on-going efforts in slums  
 

Kenya's Permanent Secretary for Housing and panelists drawn from a local NGO and the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP-Africa) continue the discussion started in Part 1 and focus on the following key questions:

  • What are some of the different options and approaches to slum upgrading?
  • What lessons can we learn from the field?
  • How can governments take upgrading efforts to scale?

The importance of consultation and involvement of all stakeholders in the design of new approaches was underlined.

The Water and Sanitation Program Africa (WSP-AF) and the World Bank organized also a public lecture to open the discussion outside the summit. This special event was a conference dealing with access to basic services in informal settlements and a comparison of the situation in Nairobi, Kenya and Dakar, Senegal. The event was attended by more than 500 persons and generated a lively discussion between slum dwellers, politicians, NGOs and various agencies.







©pS-Eau 2007