The deadly divide between rich and poor people in urban Kenya

Nursery school pupils, their class separated from another by nylon sacks, take an afternoon nap at the Kings Rescue and Education Centre in Mathare slums. [PHOTO: NANJINIA WAMUSWA]

NAIROBI: Children from poor urban families in Kenya are four times more likely to die before their fifth birthday compared to their counterparts from rich families, a new report says.

The report released by Save the Children on the global state of mothers looks at the gap between the urban rich and the urban poor and says the gap between the two groups has widened since 1990.

Although Kenya has made remarkable strides in reducing maternal and child mortality rates, the report says child survival gaps have doubled ranking the country among top 10 countries, out of the 179 featured, having the biggest gap between the rich and the poor.

"In the slums of Nairobi, maternal and child mortality rates are 45 to 50 per cent higher than the national average. The report also points out that 75 children out of a thousand births from the urban poor areas will die as compared to 19 out of a thousand births in the urban rich areas," said Save the Children Country Director Duncan Harvey during the launch of the report yesterday.

Mr Harvey pointed out that Kenya was yet to meet its millennium development goal on reducing maternal and child mortality rates, adding that Tanzania, Ethiopia and Malawi had reduced the rates by two thirds.

The countries that ranked best in having bridged the gap included Norway, Finland, Iceland, Denmark and Sweden; with Niger, Mali, Central African Republic, DR Congo and Somalia ranking the worst countries to be a mother in. Kenya, on the other hand, ranked number 138 out of 179 countries, up five places compared to last year.

"Addis Ababa, Cairo and Kampala are making efforts to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor and those who have achieved success are doing so by making healthcare available to the poor," said Mr Harvey.

The report points out that some of the factors that have contributed to high child mortality rates include social and economic inequalities.

 Kenya Paediatric Association chairman David Githanga said poverty, nutrition, environment and the priorities of leaders were contributing to the problem.

NUTRITION TARGETS

"The perspective of leaders on the population will determine how much resources are directed to the people for example," Dr Githanga said.

Some of the recommendations made in the report include focusing on improving equity between the rich and the poor, improving the health of the urban poor by increasing access to health services and ensuring nutrition targets are met given that malnutrition is a major contributor to child mortality.

Other recommendations include the need for governments to mobilise resources and directing them towards addressing preventable deaths in mothers and children.