23 October 2009
editorial
Nairobi — The death of nine people from cholera at Nairobi's Mukuru kwa Njenga slum is a stark reminder of the urban poor's vulnerability.
As experts have noted, the pandemic is linked to the rains that started pounding the city about a week ago, badly affecting slums that lack clean water and proper sanitation.
A fortnight ago, various government agencies responsible for disaster management were upbeat that a lot had been done to cushion the vulnerable against the vagaries of the el Nino-like rains.
They talked of plans to move people from flood-prone zones to safer grounds, among other strategies. However, there is little to show that we are adequately prepared. Apparently, the focus has been dealing with floods, but not medical surveillance to forestall pandemics such as cholera.
This explains why nine people easily died at Mukuru and 60 others hospitalised when cholera hit. The Mukuru incident is just the tip of the iceberg. All urban slums live in deplorable and precarious conditions.
Any torrential rains will be disastrous. Cholera has been persistent in recent years, and efforts to contain it remain elusive. Things are likely to get worse with the anticipated heavy rains.
This is why we are asking the medical ministries to change strategy to find effective ways of containing the pandemic's spread across the country to avert mass deaths.
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