WASH (i): Nairobi's Poo Problem

Normative toilet separations for men and women are not an outcome of sexual difference, but a means of culturally producing gender. In Nairobi's slums where toilets run far and few between, with the addition of a lack of gender-separated toilets, women are repeatedly exposed to vulnerability. Today's post aims to discuss the multiple and intersecting problems women face due to the 'shitty' water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) situations in Nairobi's slums. And what better day to do so than World Toilet Day! 

The growth of slums in Nairobi 

Under the colonial era (1899-1963), basic WASH services were heavily concentrated in the city for its European residents, away from the Kenyan Africans that were relegated to marginal outskirts of Nairobi. This resulted in the proliferation of illegal squatter neighbourhoods characterised by poor living conditions and environmental health risks. In a city of 3.2 million people, 65% live in slums that inhabit under 10% of the total land area. 

While the post-colonial 2010 Kenyan Constitution acknowledged safe housing and sanitation environments as a basic right, sanitation investments remained low at 0.1%-0.5% of the GDP in 2012. This is partly due to the high involvement in informal economies that result in a low tax base for municipalities to draw on and therefore an uneven allocation of services across Nairobi.

Mathare slums are home to almost half a million people. (Source)

Toilet situation in Nairobi 

In Mathare slum, one toilet is shared amongst 85 households, and it is usually an average distance of 52 meters away. For those that stay within 30 meters of a toilet, 92% report good health, compared to only 33% of households that live further than 30 meters (Figure 1). In Kibera, the numbers are even more shocking, with women having to walk more than 300m to available toilets. 

Figure 1: Map of toilets with a 30 meter buffer in Mathare slum, Nairobi. (Source)

However, staying in close proximity to a toilet does not necessarily mean that it is hygienic or accessible. Across Nairobi, toilets in slums take the form of pit latrines (Figure 2), which are disconnected from sewer systems and need to be manually emptied. But, they are typically not well maintained, making them health hazards and sometimes even unusable. Moreover, community toilets provided by external actors as safer, cleaner options sometimes charge a fee or are only open during certain hours, which inadvertently excludes certain groups of people, like women. 

Figure 2: Shared toilet facilities used by multiple households in Mathare (Source)

Where the lines overlap

Video highlighting the various sanitation issues women and children face in Kibera (Source)

What complicates the situation further is that problems arising from inadequate WASH facilities do not exist in a vacuum. Rather, the impacts on economic, education, health, care giving, and dignity overlap and intersect, with the worst of its effects felt by women. Given the caregiving and WASH roles women primarily play in the domestic sphere, these impacts also have wider implications on their communities. 

Women washing clothes in Kibera 

(Source)

Women are more susceptible to gender-based violence when attempting to access faraway toilets, especially at night or if the toilets do not have locks or proper lighting. The fear of violence also manifests into other problems, such as women refraining from drinking at night, chronic constipation, using bags/buckets at home or open defecation to relieve themselves. These bags of faeces are sometimes then thrown onto the streets in a practice known as 'flying toilets' (Figure 3). While 'flying toilets' are common across both genders, women especially are forced to employ this method at night. 

Unfortunately, 'flying toilets' and open defecation that bring waste into the public result in polluting the Mathare and Gitaturu Rivers, which are sometimes used as alternate water sources for households. Usage of contaminated food and drinking water hence leads to high incidence of poor health within the community, such as diarrhoea or cholera outbreaks. Girls make up more than half the annual diarrhoea-related deaths in Kenya. There are also long-term effects on the cognitive and brain development of children who have sustained exposure to excreta-related pathogens. Not only do such healthcare problems prevent women from participating in economic activity, Amnesty International found that healthcare costs for dependents make up a significant portion of their expenditure. This additional economic burden diverts capital from other basic household needs. 

Figure 3: 'Flying toilets' thrown into the streets (Source)

What Now? 

It is hence made abundantly clear how crucial a role inadequate WASH facilities plays in entrapping households within the poverty cycle, with women at the centre of it all. The multiple and overlapping impacts explained in this post highlight the complicated task of addressing sanitation-related issues in Nairobi. Stay tuned for my next post, where I will explore some solutions aimed at alleviating the problems presented here. In the meantime, Happy World Toilet Day!