Health, wellbeing and nutrition
Many residents in African cities face considerable challenges relating to health, nutrition and wellbeing, along with marginalisation or exclusion in accessing healthcare – especially those living in poverty. Yet these difficulties are often masked within wider data and policy debates by the so-called “urban advantage”.
Poor access to clean water, sanitation and affordable quality health services, as well as malnutrition, have made many people living in African cities – particularly in informal settlements – vulnerable to communicable diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis. The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the extent of health vulnerabilities in cities and the wider consequences for national and global health security, along with the fragility of food and nutrition security in many urban centres.
Improving integration between multiple city systems – including healthcare, food, water and sanitation, waste management, energy and spatial planning – is key to securing better health, wellbeing and nutrition outcomes for residents in African cities. ACRC will look at the political dimensions underlying the ability of governments to provide affordable, higher quality health services and food, exploring potential policy approaches and interventions to improve access and availability.
LATEST NEWS from ACRC
New research: Uncovering Lilongwe’s urban development challenges
Lilongwe is the capital of Malawi and its largest city, home to about 1 million residents – three quarters of whom live in informal settlements. Newly published ACRC research throws light on the political dynamics and city systems underpinning urban development in Lilongwe.
New research: How land intersects with connectivity in urban Africa
ACRC has published new research, exploring land and connectivity in six African cities: Accra (Ghana), Bukavu (DRC), Kampala (Uganda), Harare (Zimbabwe), Maiduguri (Nigeria) and Mogadishu (Somalia).
Local impacts of global vaccine inequalities: Post-pandemic informal settlement experiences
This blog post outlines key findings from our recent Covid Collective research, which examined changing patterns and key lessons from the Covid-19 vaccine rollouts as they took place (or did not) in a selection of informal settlements across four African cities: Harare, Kampala, Lilongwe and Nairobi.