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Toward “Age-Friendly Slums”? Health Challenges of Older Slum Dwellers in Nairobi and the Applicability of the Age-Friendly City Approach

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  • Isabella Aboderin

    (African Population and Health Research Centre, Nairobi 10787-00100, Kenya
    Centre for Research on Ageing, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
    OPTENTIA Research Focus, North West University, Vanderbijlpark 1900, South Africa)

  • Megumi Kano

    (Centre for Health Development, World Health Organization, Kobe, Hyogo 651-0073, Japan)

  • Hilda Akinyi Owii

    (African Population and Health Research Centre, Nairobi 10787-00100, Kenya)

Abstract

A majority of urban residents in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and other developing regions live in informal settlements, or slums. Much of the discourse on slum health centres on younger generations, while an intensifying agenda on healthy ageing as yet lacks a systematic focus on slums. Similarly, the global age-friendly cities (AFC) movement does not, thus far, extend to slums. This paper examines the particular challenges that a slum-focused age-friendly initiative in SSA may need to address, and the relevance of present AFC indicators and domains for initiatives to advance the health and well-being of older slum dwellers. The analysis builds on the case of two slum communities in Nairobi, Kenya. It analyzes two bodies of relevant evidence from these settlements, namely on the health and social circumstances of older residents, and on the local application and measurement of AFC indicators. The findings point to a set of unsurprising, but also less obvious, core health and social adversities that an age-friendly initiative in such settlements would need to consider. The findings show, further, that the current AFC domains and indicators framework only partly capture these adversities, but that there is potential for adapting the framework to be meaningful for slum settings. The paper concludes by underscoring the need for, and opportunities inherent in, the pursuit of an “age-friendly slums” initiative going forward.

Suggested Citation

  • Isabella Aboderin & Megumi Kano & Hilda Akinyi Owii, 2017. "Toward “Age-Friendly Slums”? Health Challenges of Older Slum Dwellers in Nairobi and the Applicability of the Age-Friendly City Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-13, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:10:p:1259-:d:115732
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bennett, Rachel & Chepngeno-Langat, Gloria & Evandrou, Maria & Falkingham, Jane, 2015. "Resilience in the face of post-election violence in Kenya: The mediating role of social networks on wellbeing among older people in the Korogocho informal settlement, Nairobi," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 159-167.
    2. Andrea Rigon, 2014. "Building Local Governance: Participation and Elite Capture in Slum-upgrading in Kenya," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 45(2), pages 257-283, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. John Friesen & Victoria Friesen & Ingo Dietrich & Peter F. Pelz, 2020. "Slums, Space, and State of Health—A Link between Settlement Morphology and Health Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-28, March.

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