Supporting people living with HIV/AIDS and improving access to water and sanitation in Kibera slum
Kibera, on the southern edge of Nairobi, is Africa’s largest slum with a population of over 800,000 people. Residents of the slum do not have access to running water, sanitation, lighting, refuse collection or health facilities.
This, coupled with poverty and overcrowding, mean that people are vulnerable to diseases, such as HIV and TB.
AMREF has been working since 1998 to improve health standards in two regions of Kibera - Laini Saba and Mashimoni. It has funded the construction of a clinic in Laini Saba and is working to reduce levels of disease by improving sanitation and providing education and medical treatment.
AMREF aims to:
- improve access to essential health services and clean water and hygienic sanitation for 97,000 residents
- reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in Kibera and treat residents who are HIV positive in their homes using anti-retroviral medication
AMREF has been able to improve living standards for Kibera residents in tangible ways.
So far, the project has:
- employed 57 local labourers to build 286 latrines and 45 water points - helping to discourage the unhygienic custom of the “flying toilet” in which human waste is dumped on the ground in plastic bags
- raised awareness about health, sanitation and hygiene at five local schools
- recruited community health workers and youth groups to hold regular clean-ups in residential areas
- improved water and sanitation conditions, reducing diarrhoeal infections from 24% in 2004 to 13% in 2006
- improved access to health care by renovating the local clinic and providing extensive training for local health workers
- increased levels of testing for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis
- provided anti-retroviral treatment for 1,000 people living with HIV/AIDS
- provided treatment for 394 people living with tuberculosis
- provided supplementary vitamins for 637 people being treated for HIV/AIDS
- provided specialised medication for 40 children living with HIV/AIDS
