The Impact Of Slum Growth On Community Health A Case Study Of Naguru Go-Down Kampala, Uganda

ABSTRACT

This report has been written following a research study to investigate the

impacts of slum growth on the community health of the people living in

them. The research was carried out in Naguru go-down a slum in Kampala-

Uganda.

The research study intended to achieve the following objectives. To

investigate slum conditions in Naguru go-down, to examine how the

developing slums are affecting health of the communities living in Naguru-go

down and to find out challenges to proper slum development.

A number of 80 respondents were consulted to represent the entire

population in the study area. These were chosen by simple random

sampling and they responded through questionnaires provided to them and

interviews conducted by the researcher on some of them. Observations were

also made by the research some of which were represented by photographs

taken by the researcher in order to collect data.

The data collected from the respondents was compiled, analyzed and edited

using frequencies, tables, pie-charts and photographs that are explained in

description.

The study revealed that community health in slum areas is very poor and

this is attributed to, the poor nature of housing in most these slums, low

quality community health based facilities which included unclean sources of

water used domestically, poor solid waste disposal, poorly placed sanitary

facilities like lavatory facilities that are mainly pit latrines and are unclean,

where also sewage channels are open and are at a unhealthy distance from

residential homes, there is deterioting health in the community due to

inaccessibility to health care brought about by poverty that does not enable

the residents to afford health services, poor hygiene and unsanitary

conditions as the main causes.

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The main health concerns in the slum were found to be indoor air pollution

due to using unclean fuels like charcoal indoors, lack of access to clean

water and poor health of which the most common diseases found affecting

the area were cough and flu, malaria, asthma, tuberculosis and diarrheal

diseases like dysentery.

From the concerns effects of the health conditions on the socio-economic

aspect of the people, current efforts in addressing the health concerns and

the effectiveness of the health providing facilities in the area were shown. The respondents also agreed that there is a relationship between slum growth and community health in which they have a negative correlation

where the community health deteriorates with increase slum growth. After which recommendations were suggested to tackle the problems and causes that have led to the poor community health in the slum area.