Evaluating government COVID-19 interventions in the Agbogbloshie slum: Impacts, limitations, and vulnerability reduction

Waste management has received global attention both in academic discourse and in practice. However, with much emphasis on urban centers, but much more regrettably, with inadequate attention to waste management of urban slum residents. This observed gap has created paucity of data for waste policy makers and researchers, a situation responsible for the failure municipal authorities to effectively and efficiently manage the waste problems of slum dwellers. Hence, this study strives to assess waste collection and disposal systems of slums residents in Ibadan city. Purposive, multi-stage and random sampling techniques were used for the study. Purposive sampling was used in selecting Ibadan North among the six urban local government areas in the metropolis. Multi-stage sampling was used in identifying four wards with relatively homogenous slums in the core areas of the Local government. Three slum localities were randomly selected across the four identified wards. The 1991 census figure for the sampled localities was projected to 2010 at 3.2% growth rate adopted for urban centers, which amounted to 132,639. Using an average household size of six for high residential areas, the estimated housing stock in these areas was 22,106. About 1.3% of the estimated housing stock in these areas was used as the sample size, this give a sample size of 300. Thus, 300 household heads were randomly surveyed across the selected slum areas. Both descriptive and inferential statistics (ANOVA and Pearson Product moment correlation) were employed for the analysis. The study revealed that urban slums dwellers in Ibadan city were mainly low-income earners, as two-thirds (69.3%) respondents earn below N10, 000 ($27.78). A one way ANOVA was used in testing for variation in waste disposal methods adopted by slum dwellers across the selected areas. The results revealed that burning was slightly significantly varied across selected slums (F [1,298] = 2.99, p= 0.09); while dumping in rivers with (F [1,298] =0.01, p= 0.92) and use of designated bins (F [1,298] = 0.14, p= 0.70) respectively do not significantly vary across the selected slum areas. The study posited that urban environmental problems and inadequate infrastructural development, especially of waste disposal facilities and collection systems are the bane of waste management in urban slums. The study therefore concludes that upgrading and formalization of slums and squatter settlement coupled with provision of infrastructural facilities and public enlightenment and development control are measures needed to effectively tackle waste collection and disposal systems in developing countries.

The advent of social media has led to the emergence of new forms of community building, information sharing, and participation; however, not all parts of the Global South have responded to these opportunities in the same way. Slum dwellers and other economically and socially marginalized groups in Bangladesh are increasingly using social media, yet little is known about their level of social media literacy, which is essential for safe and meaningful engagement on these platforms. This study examines the social media literacy of Dhaka's slum inhabitants through three focus groups and twenty-four in-depth interviews with young men and women from two major urban slums, aged 18 to 35, using purposive sampling. Thematic analysis, framed by Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital and the sociology of digital inequality (Braun & Clarke, 2006), revealed that critical aspects such as misinformation, privacy, and online risks are often overlooked, while participants’ literacy remains largely functional-limited to basic navigation and messaging despite frequent mobile social media use. Four themes emerged: the use of social media for entertainment and connection; ignorance of underlying digital risks; informal learning related to digital platforms; and a desire for self-empowerment constrained by poverty, gender, and education. Overall, slum dwellers’ social media use and literacy reflect profound social inequalities, and from a sociological perspective, these findings suggest that, without structural change, digital technologies are more likely to amplify rather than mitigate social marginalization.

Informal settlement upgrading is widely recognized for enhancing shelter and promoting economic development, yet its potential to improve health equity is usually overlooked. Almost one in seven people on the planet are expected to reside in urban informal settlements, or slums, by 2030. Slum upgrading is the process of delivering place-based environmental and social improvements to the urban poor, including land tenure, housing, infrastructure, employment, health services and political and social inclusion. The processes and products of slum upgrading can address multiple environmental determinants of health. This paper reviewed urban slum upgrading evaluations from cities across Asia, Africa and Latin America and found that few captured the multiple health benefits of upgrading. With the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focused on improving well-being for billions of city-dwellers, slum upgrading should be viewed as a key strategy to promote health, equitable development and reduce climate change vulnerabilities. We conclude with suggestions for how slum upgrading might more explicitly capture its health benefits, such as through the use of health impact assessment (HIA) and adopting an urban health in all policies (HiAP) framework. Urban slum upgrading must be more explicitly designed, implemented and evaluated to capture its multiple global environmental health benefits.

Background Neonatal health is the key to child survival. Improving neonatal home care practice may substantially improve survival of newborn babies in the first month of life. Aim The study aims to assess the effect of nursing intervention sessions on improving newly mothers' home care practices for their newborns in slum areas in Cairo. Setting The study was conducted at three Maternal and Child Health Centers that are attached to slum areas in Cairo Governorate, which are Al-Zawya Al-Hamra, El-Khusus, and El Wailya in El-Abassia area. Patients and methods A purposive sample was recruited, consisting of 162 postnatal primipara mothers and their alive newborns. The tool for data collection is newly mothers' interviewing questionnaire (pre/post), which included (a) demographic characteristics; (b) newly mothers' knowledge and the reported practice (pre/post) regarding breast feeding, thermal control, skin care and hygienic, safe cord care, and safety measures practices; and (c) the nursing intervention sessions for newborn's home care practice. The results of the study revealed that mothers' ages ranged from 18 to 40 years, and the mean of age was 23.3±5.6 years. Most of the studied mothers (87.7%) lived in flat, and 54.3% of them were living in one room, with 48.1% of them having moderate ventilation. Moreover, there are marked improvements in all aspects of mothers' home care practice after implementation of the nursing intervention (paired t=3.708). Conclusion The study concluded that the implementation of nursing intervention sessions regarding newly mothers' home care practices had a positive effect on improving newly mothers' reported practices. Recommendations The study recommends that intervention classes for newly mothers should be conducted on a regular basis to discuss and teach them different aspects of home care practices for their newborn and replication of this study with a larger sample of different slums areas with longitudinal follow-up, so that the results could be generalized.

Secure land tenure for urban slum-dwellers: A conjoint experiment in Kenya

Sleeper cells for urban green infrastructure: Harnessing latent competence in greening Dhaka’s slums

This paper investigates the challenges facing social inclusion efforts in urban live-ability among slum-dwellers around Karen suburb, Nairobi City, Kenya. Urban centers present a complex and dynamic element of the modern landscape. In that regard, there is over 1 billion people dwelling in the slums globally, and the number is expected to grow in the next few decades. However, the rapid urbanization is not commensurate to the urban centers’ ability to provide basic infrastructure such as roads and affordable housing; and basic services like tapped water and sanitation especially to the slum dwellers. Therefore, the slum dwellers have been subjected to extreme social exclusion and consequently growing inequalities that have attracted the attention of scholars, civil society, policy and decision-makers, and the affected citizens. The dystopian situation of social exclusion is more experienced in the urban-slums despite rapid urbanization world over. Urbanization has remained one of the most critical and fundamental forces driving the global economy, and one of the key indicators of economic productivity and economic development level. In that regard, the world cannot give up on urbanization because it is projected that by 2050, more than two-thirds of the global population might be living in the urban areas. Consequently, stakeholders are working hard to influence positively the changing contours of urbanization to achieve social integration and urban live-ability and social inclusion. The target population for this study was the households’ heads, born in the slums, and have been involved in attempts to improve the slum dwellers wellbeing. A mixed research method was used, thus a structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data, while for the qualitative method, an interview guide was used to collect data through Focus Discussion Groups. The study had four objectives: to establish the types of social exclusion experienced by dwellers in the slums, investigate the efforts by slum centers to promote social inclusion, determine how the Karen slum dwellers are affected by social exclusion, and to evaluate why the stakeholders’ efforts have not been effective in improving social inclusion in Karen slums. The study established the following: the social exclusion is fueled by poor governance, unfair distribution of resources, and the fact that slum dwellers do not participate in decision making and planning due to exclusion; poor relationship between the slum dwellers and the elites fuel tensions, and finally, inadequate service delivery. The efforts by the slum dwellers to improve their wellbeing bear little fruit due to wrong priorities by the government, lack of land tenure dissuades any long-term investment, the social environment in the slums remains insecure and volatile for business. For the existing opportunities to benefit the slums dwellers, there should be strong partnership between all the stakeholders, infrastructure development, participation and enactment of a strong policy framework.

Premarital and extramarital relationships among the slum dwellers in Dhaka city have become a matter growing concern. However, it has not been yet spotlighted in empirical research. As such, the main purpose of the study was to identify the causes and consequences of premarital and extramarital relationships. The study was a qualitative study where multiple case-study design was employed. Primary data were collected via in-depth interviews from ten participants by using snowball sampling. Moreover, three key informants were interviewed for further supportive information. The study shows that poor social environment and living conditions, learning unethical sexual practice from close friends, falsehood promise for marriage, and uncontrolled sexual desire are the major causes of premarital and extramarital relationship among the slum dwellers. The study also reveals that unsafe and unprotected sexual intercourse, unintended pregnancies and induced abortions, domestic violence and divorce, and the risk of spreading STDs and STIs are major potential consequences of premarital and extramarital relationships among the slum dwellers and thus the issues are a great threat to social and environmental well-being. The study suggests that both government and non-government organizations should undertake proper policy measures and programs such as propagation of health awareness programs, especially on HIV/AIDS and STDS, provision of civic amenities, enforcement of laws, and development of moral values to minimize premarital and extramarital relationships among slum dwellers

Young people are at the centre of the HIV pandemic. Although global incidence of HIV is diminishing, for many cohorts below the age of 24, such as slum-dwelling youth, prevalence has, overall, plateaued or increased. HIV in eastern and southern Africa, the region hit hardest by the disease, is becoming an urban phenomenon and aggregating in informal slum settings. A new genre of research is called for that provides insight into the urban evolution of HIV and identifies entry points for tackling root causes of risk and vulnerability. This is a novel piece of research carried out in two urban slums in Nairobi, Kenya: Korogocho and Majengo. Each site was politically marginalised and inhabited mostly by young people facing a generalised HIV epidemic. In contrast to the predominant quantitative research tradition in Kenya, this is a qualitative study that seeks to understand perceptions of HIV and the processes involved in managing risk from the point of view of young people. A constructivist grounded theory methodology was adopted given its fit with the study’s theoretical conception and topic of inquiry. Two methods were used to generate primary data: first, 25 semi-structured interviews with men and women aged 18–24 years; and second, a photovoice exercise involving nine participants. During interviewing and photovoice, rich data emerged that were sorted into a progression of open, focussed and theoretical codes. The simultaneous process of data generation and analysis pointed to where the research needed to go next and formed an integral part of constructing social theory. An inductive coding approach gradually created a higher conceptual order moving from descriptive to explanatory in which core properties, dimensions and relationships pertaining to the slum universe were captured and synthesised. Through creating a storyline, participants' experiential approach to life was brought into sharp focus as was the role of individual agency and purpose. Research conclusions were interrogated within the domains of individual, environmental and structural determinants and checked against the literature to establish the principle of knowledge generation and translation. The study constructs a theoretical model, 'HIV and the Integrity of Risk —Dignifying Resilience in Disadvantage,' which accounts for young people’s action driven by the exigencies of survival and in which HIV forms part of the compendium of a life lived on the edge. Risk, as this study finds, is about the integrity to perceive advantage in the daily struggle to find sustenance, to take life on with all its pitfalls and gain resilience within the social realm capable of managing processes at the heart of HIV. This research calls for further inquiry that explores measures taken by young slum dwellers to dignify their lives and avoid episodes of humiliation and the impact these have on the social epidemiology of HIV. As a means of helping to control the epidemic, HIV research must continue to prioritise innovative people-centred slum-based social inquiry that highlights what matters most to the people most at risk and the people holding the key to ending AIDS.

The aim of the study was to explore the tour operator’s role in promoting township tourism at Inanda in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). Township tourism has enormous potential and ever-growing economic opportunities for local entrepreneurs to enter into the tour operating business. With necessary support this can contribute immensely in overcoming the legacy of social and economic exclusion which for the decades has characterised township life. It is a fact that the growth of township tourism has produced significant social transformation in the ancillary areas of the tourism industry in the tourism destinations, despite the fact that connections between these areas and tour operators are weak. This situation is no longer considered as being a sustainable way to travel and do business. This study takes the view that the tour operator’s business does not only entail picking up and dropping off tourists at their booked accommodation. The objectives of the study were to identify the promotional strategies that tour operators employ in promoting small tourism enterprises in townships; to identify effective strategies used by tour operator when promoting township tourism; to explore the barriers faced by tour operators preventing them from contributing effectively to the promoting of township tourism; and to identify and disclose all the small tourism enterprises that benefit through the role that is played by tour operators in township tourism and to recommend changes needed to advance the promotion of township tourism in Inanda. This research explored and investigated the role played by tour operators and the challenges they may come across in growing their small businesses. A qualitative research methodology was utilised to collect the primary data for this study. Data collection was conducted through interviews. The sample size for the study was seven tour operators within Inanda township. The outcomes from the literature and primary study discovered some interesting findings related to the objectives and of the research questions. The most important finding in the literature review was that tour operators need to deliver the best possible service as tourists are important for the destination’s economy (Tour Operators Initiative [TOI], 2008: 108). The findings of the study indicate that there is direct contact between tour operators and clients during tours thus personal one-on-one safety is of critical importance (Moutinho, 2011: 161). Another finding is that there is little or no support from government for local tour operators. This hinders them from accessing information that would enable them to understand the tourism business holistically.

Nurses and respiratory therapists working on the frontline during the pandemic surge were short-staffed and worked extended hours while adding new tasks to already demanding workloads. As the world watched news covering COVID-19's effect, nurses and respiratory therapists lived through the daily stress of treating each patient with care, dignity, and compassion. Limited studies have focused on this population, which is vital to providing care and saving lives; research is needed to understand nurses' and respiratory therapists' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aimed to understand nurses' and respiratory therapists' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative descriptive study, informed by naturalistic philosophy, was designed to obtain a detailed account of participants' experiences during the pandemic surge. A purposive sample was recruited and enrolled from the community through professional organizations and snowball sampling from December 2021 to September 2022. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Participants were seven registered nurses and six respiratory therapists employed full-time in an intensive care unit, step-down intensive care unit, emergency department, or medical-surgical unit; seven (53.8%) with an associate degree, and six (46.2%) with a bachelor's degree. Eight (66.7%) self-identified as White, one Asian, one non-Hispanic Black, and two Pacific Islanders. The mean age was 40, and 10 (76.9%) were female. Six primary themes emerged: (a) the work-life experience before the COVID-19 pandemic, (b) the work-life experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, (c) the personal life experience during COVID-19, (d) the coping period, (e) the professional role change, and (f) the work and personal life experiences post COVID-19 surge. The knowledge gained from this study can help improve understanding of the professional quality of life, the need for organizational and community support, and for healthcare professionals to seek help and practice self-care to prevent burnout and secondary traumatic stress.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a massive humanitarian crisis across the globe. In times of emergency response, such as the pandemic, forcibly displaced people are among the most vulnerable groups who often face socio-economic marginalization, and other forms of intersecting oppression and discrimination, such as xenophobia and racism. In refugee camps, they are more susceptible to contracting the virus because of their poor living conditions in overcrowded camps and/or substandard housing, difficulties in adopting social distancing and self-isolation, and lack of adequate public health services. Using predetermined inclusion criteria for the studies, we searched databases, including JSTOR, Social Work Abstract, Social Sciences Abstract, EBSCOhost, ProQuest, and PsycINFO, to find relevant literature. We employed a theoretical construct of “uncanny,” often used by postcolonial thinkers, to critically analyze the selected studies. We identified four overarching themes: a) crisis within crises amid the pandemic, b) racism and xenophobia amid the pandemic, c) international solidarity and sharing responsibility, and d)neoliberal global regime and displacement. Our paper concludes with policy recommendations and action plans to be implemented by international communities, governments, and civil society targeting forcibly displaced people to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 and future pandemics.

Purpose: There is tremendous potential for vibrant township tourism in Zimbabwe. The country boasts an abundance of township tourism resources such as monuments of colonial history, administrative centers, informal sector activities, co-existence of traditional and modern cuisine, art and craft centers, community markets, iconic personalities and buildings, and others. Despite this rich heritage of tourism resources, township tourism has failed to attract a critical mass of clients to make it viable thereby depriving the country of potential revenue of this form of alternative tourism. Keeping this in mind, the main objective of the study was to develop a model for packaging and popularising township tourism in Zimbabwe.
 Method: The study adopted a qualitative methodology. Data were collected from Tour operators, residents, and Zimbabwe Tourism Authority through participant observations and in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using a thematic approach.
 Results: The study revealed key challenges to the growth of township tourism being lack of finance, lack of support from authorities, illegal operators, and limited access to markets, stringent operational laws, and poor understanding of the concept. Furthermore, tour operators and residents were of the view that information should be disseminated through publicity associations, using brochures and travel shows to aid in popularising township tourism. Respondents highlighted the need for educating all stakeholders on township tourism and creating mutual relationships.
 Implications: Recommendations included stakeholder involvement and tour operators’ in-depth knowledge of iconic tourism resources in the township. It further recommends a strategic partnership with international tour operators offering township tourism.

PurposeThe study examined the influence of slums on policies affecting the slums' lives in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory qualitative approach based on in-depth interviews (IDIs) was used to select 24 respondents using purposive and snowball sampling techniques.FindingsThe findings show that slum dwellers have an adequate understanding of policies that affect the dwellers' lives. Furthermore, slum dwellers use statutory, technological, media and right-to-vote-based strategies to influence government policies. This also indicates that implemented policies do not align with realities in the slumsResearch limitations/implicationsThe outcome of this study cannot be generalised to represent the whole population of slums due to the inherent limitations associated with a qualitative designSocial implicationsThis study uncovers context-specific strategies through which slum residents influence policies. The study concedes that policy actors involve the slums in policies that affect their livelihoodsOriginality/valueThe results are unique not only to developing countries, but are also useful to other economies with similar characteristics.

The main objective of the study is to find out the difference in career aspiration of school going slum adolescents in relation to their self-concept. Survey method has been used. The investigator has selected 200 school going slum adolescents from 10 secondary schools by using purposive sampling technique. For collection of data, the investigator has used, self-concept questionnaire by R. K. Saraswat and career aspiration scale constructed by the investigator. For analysis of data the t-test and co-efficient of correlation were calculated. The finding of the study revealed that there is a positive significant relationship between self-concept and career aspiration among school going slum adolescents. Article visualizations: