Between 2021 and 2022, the ARISE project team conducted data collection using diaries with 32 marginalised and vulnerable groups and a cross-sectional household survey with 1761 study participants in Korogocho and Viwandani informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. This brief outlines the findings from this survey. .
Systems of Waste: Documentaries exploring the lives of sanitation workers and waste pickers in India
Earlier this year our partner, The George Institute, India, created a series of short documentaries as part of the ARISE project. These films explore the lives and experiences of garbage collectors, sanitation workers and waste pickers, and their significance in the context of sanitation and public health. The films were produced in English and local […]
Equitable health research requires actively engaging communities in producing new knowledge to advocate for their health needs. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) relies on the coproduction of contextual and grounded knowledge between researchers, programme implementers and community partners with the aim of catalysing action for change. Improving coproduction competencies can support research quality and validity. Yet, […]
This poster was originally presented at the 8th Annual Symposium on Health Systems Research in Nagasaki, Japan. Authors are Muhammad Riaz Hossain, Nazia Islam, Mst. Nusrat Jahan, Tasmiha Amin Oishy, Bachera Aktar and Sabina Faiz Rashid. Inequalities in knowledge production disproportionately affect disadvantaged communities (John & Rempala, 2024). Socioeconomic, gender, and institutional hierarchies contribute to […]
A poster, presented at Bintu Mansaray, Rosie Steege, Samira Sesay, Inviolata Njeri Njoroge, Ivy Chumo, Caroline Kabaria, Blessing Mberu, Partho Mukherjee, Surekha Garimella, Riaz Hossain, Sabina Rashid, Rachel Tolhurst, Neele Wiltgen Georgi, Kate Hawkins, Sally Theobald and Laura Dean, at the 8th Global Symposium on Health Systems Research. Urban informal settlements are characterised by poor […]
Urban informality, often viewed negatively, is not solely the product of the urban poor but also reflects the failure of formal systems to adapt. Informal workers, who make up about 61% of the global workforce, operate outside formal labor laws and significantly contribute to urban development. Understanding and harnessing community capitals are vital for sustainable […]
Professor Naila Kabeer and Professor Sabina Rashid, two very highly distinguished scholars in their respective fields within global development studies, gender relations and social transformation. In this episode of In Dialogue they are joined by Professor Hilary Standing to discuss gender relations in Bangladesh. Naila’s book, Renegotiating patriarchy: gender agency and the Bangladesh paradox, is […]
ARISE aimed to explore and understand the health and well-being of people and communities working and living in informal spaces, which can be influenced by a combination of factors such as residence, environmental conditions, financial status, educational attainment and social connections with friends and family. There is evidence that the close involvement of co-researchers at […]
During 2023 and 2024 ARISE partners, from around the world, took part in a process to summarise and synthesise the learning from their work. Country teams of researchers and co-researchers came together to map out the activities they had engaged in since our inception, the milestones along the way and how communities had changed as […]
Mahila Milan, “Women Together” in Hindi, are a women’s collective in slums and slum relocation colonies, who work with resident communities, theirpolitical representatives and municipal officials to manage credit and savings activities. Mahila Milan was created in 1986 when hundreds of women who lived on Mumbai’s pavements organised to successfully prevent the demolitions of their […]
Supported by the ARISE responsive challenge fund, the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) worked with Ruben FM to address solid waste management (SWM) and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) issues in the community through media advocacy via the radio. This brief presents activities, key outcomes, lessons and recommendations. Community radio is a not-for-profit, […]
The ARISE research study in the Korogocho, Viwandani and Mathare informal settlements in Nairobi found that the most vulnerable community members such as people with disabilities (PWDs), children heading households (CHH) and older persons are often invisible to government support and lack agency, causing them to miss out on essential government services, including those specifically […]
In Bangladesh, equitable access to good quality health services is an urgent public health concern for urban informal settlements that are characterised by poor housing conditions, high population density, lack of basic essential services and tenure insecurity. Residents of these settlements live with continuous structural and spatial vulnerabilities and marginalisation. The most vulnerable groups (MVGs) […]
Through the ARISE programme, the George Institute India (TGI) supported the co-creation and strengthening of spaces for women waste workers to convene and discuss issues related to gender, health and wellbeing. This led to women engaging more with collectives to bring their issues to the fore. After four years, women waste workers are willing to […]
In informal settlements like Kiamutisya (Nairobi, Kenya), where fires, flooding, and disease outbreaks frequently occur, accurately identifying affected households is crucial for rapid and effective response efforts. Cholera outbreaks, for example, are best contained and controlled by swiftly locating affected areas. The absence of a reliable identification system poses significant challenges for Community Health Promoters […]
The participatory and inclusive approach employed by the ARISE Sierra Leone partners strengthened relationships and trust between communities and the government agency responsible for the COVID-19 response at the district level (DICOVERC – District COVID-19 Emergency Response Centre). This created a more open and conducive environment for health service uptake within these communities. ARISE created […]
Supported by the ARISE responsive challenge fund, the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) worked with Women in Water and Sanitation Association (WIWAS) to address the accountability and responsiveness to sanitation workers, specifically manual pit emptiers (MPEs) as right holders. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 on clean water and sanitation goals relies on a […]
Supported by the ARISE responsive challenge fund, the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) worked with Koch FM to address water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and solid waste management (SWM) issues through community radio. Community radio usually refers to short-range, not-for-profit radio stations that cater to the informational needs of people living in a […]
Supported by the ARISE responsive challenge fund, the African Population and Health Research Center worked with Slum TV to use film to help address solid waste management (SWM) in the community. SWM is the collecting, treating and disposing of solid material once it has been discarded. SWM is a challenge in informal settlements because: absentee […]
In May 2023 a health and wellbeing survey of informal settlement residents in Cockle Bay, Moyiba and Dwazark, in Freetown, Sierra Leone was undertaken by ARISE partners. This blog acts as a summary, highlighting some of the main findings. We also have the full survey report available for download. Background This survey builds on the […]
Through the Responsive Challenge Fund, ARISE partnered with local NGO PHASE Nepal to carry out implementation research to assess the status of living conditions and accountability in informal settlements through a mixed method study. This book was produced with the support of community members from the Manohara and Namuna Basti informal settlements of the Kathmandu […]
We’re thrilled to announce the publication of our colleague Professor Sabina Faiz Rashid’s book Poverty, Gender and Health in the Slums of Bangladesh: Children of Crows. Sabina is the Mushtaque Chowdhury Chair in Health and Poverty at BRAC’s James P Grant School of Public Health and ARISE PI in Bangladesh, and has written about the […]
Supported by the ARISE Responsive Challenge Fund, the African Population and Health Research Centre worked with Slum-Child Foundation (SCF) to address water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Clean water often costs more in informal settlements when it is provided by intermediaries, reducing the amount of water people can afford for handwashing. With a lack of space, […]
Abstract Access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services is crucial for a healthy start in life. Social accountability has a potential for enhancing WASH services in childcare centres. However, there are inadequate studies to understand how informal social accountability mechanisms contributes to WASH service provision. To address this gap, we conducted a cross-sectional […]
Supported by the ARISE responsive challenge fund, the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) worked with the U-Tena youth organization to address solid waste management (SWM). SWM entails collecting, treating, and disposing of solid material that is discarded because it has served its purpose or is no longer useful. SWM is a challenge in […]
In this interesting, new video learn about the program run by an alliance of SPARC, National Slum Dwellers Federation and Mahila Milan (a women’s savings collective) to support program those with TB and their families. This work was undertaken as part of the ARISE consortium’s work in India.
This brief on catastrophic health expenditure in Kenya’s rapidly growing urban areas look at how the rapid growth of urban populations poses significant challenges to healthcare access in cities in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), such as Kenya. A scoping review on the economic impact of accessing healthcare in urban populations indicates that residents across […]
Supported by the ARISE Responsive Challenge Fund, the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) worked with Child Space Organization to reach out to children heading up households in the attempt to address the vulnerabilities and marginalities they face. Child headed households (CHHs) refer to families that have a minor as the head of the […]
Abstract This article critically reviews the literature on urban informality, inequity, health, well-being and accountability to identify key conceptual, methodological and empirical gaps in academic and policy discourses. We argue that critical attention to power dynamics is often a key missing element in these discourses and make the case for explicit attention to the operation […]
Abstract Safeguarding challenges in global health research include sexual abuse and exploitation, physical and psychological abuse, financial exploitation and neglect. Intersecting individual identities (such as gender and age) shape vulnerability to risk. Adolescents, who are widely included in sexual and reproductive health research, may be particularly vulnerable. Sensitive topics like teenage pregnancy may lead to […]
Abstract Poorly managed sanitation is degrading, unhealthy and far too dominant among the urban poor. The conventional solution to poorly managed onsite sanitation and/or open defecation is for governments to provide adequate sanitation at subsidised prices. Few governments in low and middle income countries can subsidise access to sanitation facilities for people living and working […]
Waste workers-otherwise known as sanitation workers-are often made invisible due to informal work arrangements. In India, as in other parts of the world, sanitation workers tend to be from the oppressed and marginalized communities with little access to healthcare and quality health services. This despite, their work being highly important to society and exposing them […]
Co-production requires dismantling existing power hierarchies. As such, it can support decolonising knowledge generation and fostering inclusive and equitable relationships with diverse (and at times) marginalised actors participating in health governance, research and decision-making. Decolonising knowledge production recognises that expertise lies with those communities directly affected by health inequities and challenges as well as other […]
Decolonising health research requires a shift to inclusive processes, and actively engaging with communities. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) fosters collaboration among communities, researchers, and implementers to produce contextual knowledge for action. Enhancing co-production skills and competencies has been shown to improve research quality and validity, while CBPR principles have been developed, limited guidance exists on […]
Waste pickers in India are extremely vulnerable to a range of health problems due to their poor living and unsafe working conditions, and struggle to access the health services they are entitled to. This research uses a community-based participatory research and focuses specifically on vector-borne diseases in two districts of Andhra Pradesh, exploring how they […]
In Kenya, the pregnancy rate of 15% among adolescents aged 15–19 years is alarmingly high. Adolescent girls living in informal urban settlements are exposed to rapid socio-economic transitions and multiple intersecting health risks and may be particularly disadvantaged in accessing sexual reproductive health services. Understanding vulnerabilities and service-seeking behaviours from different perspectives is important in order […]
In this episode of the Health Policy and Planning Podcast, LSHTM’s Public Engagement Manager, Karl Byrne is joined by our colleague Linet Okoth from LVCT Health. They talk about her paper “Policy and practices shaping the delivery of health services to pregnant adolescents in informal urban settlements in Kenya.” It’s a fascinating conversation that covers […]
This photo-narrative book was developed with community members from Green Land (Khulna), Bajekazla (Rajshahi) and Shyampur (Dhaka) communities, as part of the ARISE Responsive Fund in Bangladesh. It tells the stories of how many marginalised people in urban informal settlements of Bangladesh were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they came together to respond […]
Abstract People in informal urban settlements in Kenya face multiple inequalities, yet researchers investigate issues such as HIV or intimate partner violence (IPV) in isolation, targeting single populations and focusing on individual behaviour, without involving informal settlement dwellers. We formed a study team of researchers (n = 4) and lay investigators (n = 11) from an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya to […]
Beyond several interests and speculations on the relationship between formal and informal actors and their networks in support of vulnerable populations, most studies do not conclusively establish whether the two types of support are substitutes or complements. While informal care and formal care may be substitutes in general, they are complements among the vulnerable groups. […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a significant burden on psychosocial health and wellbeing of childcare providers. The need to support childcare managers has been recognized. However, there is to date little research specifically on how best to support the mental health needs of childcare providers, and no studies on their own experiences and views about what might be […]
Worldwide, infrastructure expansion and visions of ‘slum-free cities’ displace people living in informal settlements. Without community participation in these processes and accountability mechanisms in place’ such displacement can adversely impact people’s health and well-being. This piece outlines SPARC’s (Society For Promotion of Area Resource Centres, SPARC is an NGO based in India promoting action of […]
Waste pickers in India are extremely vulnerable to a range of health problems due to their poor living and unsafe working conditions, and struggle to access the health services they are entitled to. This research uses a community-based participatory research and focuses specifically on mosquito-borne diseases in two districts of Andhra Pradesh, exploring how they […]
Filmed in Freetown, Sierra Leone, the documentary looks at the realities of life for people living in informal settlements. It also explores ARISE’s community based participatory research approach, undertaken in partnership with communities to claim their rights to health, and address issues of health and political accountability to put people at the heart of decision […]
Introduction One of the major challenges that persons with disabilities (PWDs) are facing globally is unemployment. The challenge is attributed to systems that are not built with inclusivity in mind by employers. As such, the work of inclusion is not inviting PWDs to do more but to make a difference through social support. Most research […]
To celebrate the 125th anniversary of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, artist Luke Jerram is working in Freetown, Sierra Leone in collaboration with ARISE. Helping to empower local communities, we worked with local teams to install 21 solar powered LED streetlights within the informal settlements of Freetown. We installed the permanent lighting in public areas including water collection areas, […]
The Accountability and Responsiveness in Informal Settlements for Equity (ARISE) project seeks to understand the role of accountability in improving health and wellbeing inequities of marginalised and vulnerable groups living and working in informal urban spaces in Bangladesh, India, Kenya and Sierra Leone. Mapping of the social and governance terrain was conducted in the first […]
The Accountability and Responsiveness in Informal Settlements for Equity (ARISE) project seeks to understand the role of accountability in improving health and wellbeing inequities of marginalised and vulnerable groups living and working in informal urban spaces in Bangladesh, India and, Kenya and Sierra Leone. Mapping of the social and governance terrain was conducted in the […]
The Accountability and Responsiveness in Informal Settlements for Equity (ARISE) project seeks to understand the role of accountability in improving health and wellbeing inequities of marginalised and vulnerable groups living and working in informal urban spaces in Bangladesh, India, Kenya and Sierra Leone. Mapping of the social and governance terrain was conducted in the first […]
The Accountability and Responsiveness in Informal Settlements for Equity (ARISE) project seeks to understand the role of accountability in improving health and wellbeing inequities of marginalised and vulnerable groups living and working in informal urban spaces in Bangladesh, India, Kenya and Sierra Leone. Mapping of the social and governance terrain was conducted in the first […]
The Accountability and Responsiveness in Informal Settlements for Equity (ARISE) project seeks to understand the role of accountability in improving health and wellbeing inequities of marginalised and vulnerable groups living and working in informal urban spaces in Bangladesh, India and, Kenya and Sierra Leone. Mapping of the social and governance terrain was conducted in the […]
This brief examines the experiences and challenges faced by people with disabilities in the Korogocho and Viwandani informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. The information was collected using Photovoice, a participatory research approach, as a part of work undertaken by the ARISE consortium. Photovoice participants were identified with the support of Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) who […]
This brief examines the experiences and challenges faced by older persons in the Korogocho and Viwandani informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. The information was collected using Photovoice, a participatory research approach, as a part of work undertaken by the ARISE consortium. Photovoice participants were identified with the support of Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) who had […]
Abstract Vaccine hesitancy or low uptake was identified as a major threat to global health by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019. Vaccine hesitancy is context-specific and varies across time, place, and socioeconomic groups. In this study, we aimed to understand the perceptions of and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination through time among urban slum […]
Abstract Slums and informal settlements have long been a policy concern, particularly in post-independence cities of the global South. Although national and local governments devise public policy seeking to address these habitations, these policy initiatives occur in conversation with the often far less visible global policy discourses of international urban development actors. Positing their ideational […]
“…I sometimes ask myself whether we shall be able to overcome and make it through to take care of the children” – Lenar is an older person living in Viwandani Informal Settlement This gallery has been created using a selection of images included in a recent Photovoice project. The project is the result of a […]
Abstract Empirical evidence suggests that the health outcomes of children living in slums are poorer than those living in non-slums and other urban areas. Improving health especially among children under five years old (U5y) living in slums, requires a better understanding of the social determinants of health (SDoH) that drive their health outcomes. Therefore, we […]
Abstract The complexity of issues addressed by research for development (R4D) requires collaborations between partners from a range of disciplines and cultural contexts. Power asymmetries within such partnerships may obstruct the fair distribution of resources, responsibilities and benefits across all partners. This paper presents a cross-case analysis of five R4D partnership evaluations, their methods and […]
Abstract Catalyzing change and promoting sustainable cities in informal settlements and their residents requires an understanding of unmet needs and resilience among marginalized and vulnerable groups (MVGs). This is because needs identified on behalf of MVGs as “unmet” are sometimes not perceived as unmet, or even “meetable”, and resilience strategies from above are often perceived […]
Background Accountability strategies are expected to enhance access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) service delivery in low-and middle-income countries (LMIC). Conventional formal social accountability mechanisms (SAMs) for WASH service delivery have been inadequate to meet the needs of residents in informal settlements in LMICs. This has prompted growing interest in alternative informal SAMs (iSAMs) […]
Introduction A range of community engagement initiatives to advance health and wellbeing are currently taking place in informal settlements in low and middle income countries (LMICs), including community and stakeholder meetings, use of radio, film, TV programs and other information, education and communication materials (IECs) organized by different stakeholders. While these initiatives tend to focus […]
Abstract Social accountability for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services is a critical component to realising child rights to WASH services by the urban poor, more so in childcare centres. Despite the existence of discrete social accountability mechanisms (SAMs) in informal settlements, informal SAMs rarely form part of strategic approaches to addressing social accountability challenges […]
Abstract Introduction Despite many institutions gaining access to improved water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, childcare centres in informal settlements have low access and poor condition of WASH services. It is imperative to understand how existing actors and social networks operate in the WASH sector in childcare centres in Nairobi’s informal settlements. Objective To empirically […]
Please turn on closed captions for subtitles on this video! The ARISE team in India organised an exchange between the waste workers in Shimla and Vijaywada and the alliance of SPARC, NSDF and Mahila Milan. Supported by ARISE and funded by GCRF, a group of waste workers, both men and women, from Shimla and Vijaywada […]
“I do not know where I should go” Barriers in Using Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare by Male Adolescents in Bangladesh: Findings From Mixed Method Study This poster by Muhammad Riaz Hossain was presented at the National Adolescent Health Conference in Bangladesh. It was funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands project titled ‘Understanding Sexual […]
Menstrual Hygiene Management in Informal Urban Settlements in Dhaka: Conversations around taboo, stigma and challenges This poster by Adrita Rahman was presented at the National Adolescent Health Conference in Bangladesh. The poster won first prize at this national event.
Abstract COVID-19 significantly affected people with disabilities, with many facing additional barriers in access to services and increased risks of poor health and social outcomes. Focusing on the impact of COVID-19 in the Global South, this study took place in Bangladesh and Liberia, where 14% and 16% of the population are thought to live with […]
Shahreen Chowdhury, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine COVID-19 changed the world as we know it. However, the pandemic significantly affected people with disabilities with many facing additional barriers in access to services, increased isolation and increased risks of poor health and social outcomes. This study took place in Bangladesh and Liberia, where there is minimal […]
Abstract Catalyzing change and promoting sustainable cities in informal settlements and their residents requires an understanding of unmet needs and resilience among marginalized and vulnerable groups (MVGs). This is because needs identified on behalf of MVGs as “unmet” are sometimes not perceived as unmet, or even “meetable”, and resilience strategies from above are often perceived […]
Rani has had debilitatingly painful periods ever since she started relying on injectable contraceptives. When she reached out to her doctor for help, she was told to be patient and that “this happens, it is quite normal.” But it does make it very difficult for her to manage her periods. Not only does she have to […]
This photo-narrative book was developed with community members from Green Land (Khulna), Bajekazla (Rajshahi) and Shyampur (Dhaka) communities. It tells the stories of how most marginalised people in urban informal settlements of Bangladesh were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they came together to respond to the challenges. This action was stimulated and facilitated […]
Earlier this month at the Seventh Global Symposium on Health Systems Research in Bogota, Colombia the ARISE consortium hosted a session on power, “You want to deal with power while riding on power”: Visualising the social ecology of power in politics and policy in health systems. In the session participants were asked to engage in […]
As part of the Seventh Global Symposium on Health Systems Research the ARISE consortium hosted an online session, ‘Accountability from below? Learning from participatory research processes on water and sanitation in informal settlements’. Hosted by Vinodkumar Rao, the session included the voices of our co-researchers and partners in our focus countries Bangladesh, Kenya and Sierra […]
Recent calls to decolonise global health have resulted in an overdue but critical reflection of power sharing in partnerships. Many partners have adopted their own agendas to support this goal, yet cross learning and sharing between partners has been limited owing to a lack of knowing ‘what works’ to support equitable partnerships in practice. While […]
In this episode, we hear from two PhD students from the ARISE Consortium. ARISE stands for accountability and responsiveness in informal settlements for equity, and is about promoting social change for improved health and wellbeing with communities and people living and working within urban informal spaces. This episodes guests: Bachera Aktar Assistant Director, The Centre […]
The Seventh Global Symposium on Health Systems Research is ongoing in Bogota Colombia. The theme of this year’s Conference is Health Systems Performance in the Political Agenda: Sharing lessons for current and future global challenges which directs attention at the significant strife the world has faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. On the first day of […]
The Ripple Effect Mapping Tool provides a space for research partners to reflect on their achievements and refocus on their aims while also supporting reflexivity processes on positionality, inclusion and equity. As such, grounds the research within the lived realities of communities. The tool also supports communities and researchers to engage in critical learning. It […]
Despite gender equality policies at the national level in many African countries, there are persistent gender-based disparities, inequalities and exclusions faced by many women, particularly among low-income urban residents. And while urbanisation may offer greater opportunities for women – for example, in employment, access to services and changes in social and household dynamics – this […]
Abstract Waste work in India is an undervalued role relegated to historically marginalised communities. The informal nature of their work coupled with lack of state regulation keeps waste workers trapped in poverty. This study aims to understand how intersecting systems and relations of power impact the agency of waste workers to shape their health and […]
Abstract Children heading households (CHH) in urban informal settlements face specific vulnerabilities shaped by limitations on their opportunities and capabilities within the context of urban inequities, which affect their wellbeing. We implemented photovoice research with CHHs to explore the intersections between their vulnerabilities and the social and environmental context of Nairobi’s informal settlements. We enrolled […]
Presentation given in a session at the Development Studies Association (DSA) Conference from the 6-8 July 2022. The title of our panel was “Rethinking Climate Justice and actions for adaptation in a rapidly urbanizing context.” The panel discussion was linked to ARISE’s overarching aim of situating health within governance and accountability. We therefore explored the broader political and […]
This brief outlines the work of the ARISE project and is a mini introduction to how we work in Kenya, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone and India as well as providing a snap shot of some of the ways in which we have made a difference. Read the brief if you want to understand the consortium structure […]
The project was implemented in Korogocho and Viwandani informal settlements in Nairobi. The ARISE project aims to catalyse a step change for health and well being, including talking to community members to try and understand what challenges they face in their day-to-day lives. This video looks at water, sanitation and hygiene in Kenya’s informal settlements.
In this week’s episode we hear from our co-host Robinson Karuga in his role as a Research, Evaluation and Learning Manager at LVCT. Robinson has been part of a team implementing a participatory action research approach to improve health and wellbeing in two informal settlements in Nairobi. Robinson shares with us: How data collected with community […]
In this week’s episode we talk about COVID-19 and how travel and public health restrictions presented challenges to ensuring that urban marginalised voices were heard by researchers and policy makers in India and Bangladesh. Our impressive guests Professor Sabina Faiz Rashid and Senior Research Fellow Dr.Surekha Garimella discuss the importance of having established long-term relationships […]
In this week’s episode we will be discussing the intersections between research and activism for social change. With our guests Vinodkumar Rao and Joseph Kimani, we will be seeking to understand how lessons from activist approaches can be applied within research and vice versa. We will also explore how power, participation and social justice fits […]
In this week’s episode we are talking to Inviolata Njoroge from LVCT Kenya and Shrutika Murthy from The George Institute for Global Health (TGI), India. They have shared their experiences of using visual methods and storytelling to bridge the power-laden distances between lived realities of waste pickers, child headed households, the elderly and people with […]
Several studies have shown that residents of urban informal settlements/slums are usually excluded and marginalised from formal social systems and structures of power leading to disproportionally worse health outcomes compared to other urban dwellers. To promote health equity for slum dwellers, requires an understanding of how their lived realities shape inequities especially for young children […]
Abstract COVID-19 brings uncertainties and new precarities for communities and researchers, altering and amplifying relational vulnerabilities (vulnerabilities which emerge from relationships of unequal power and place those less powerful at risk of abuse and violence). Research approaches have changed too, with increasing use of remote data collection methods. These multiple changes necessitate new or adapted […]
We’re pleased to share this video documentary highlighting ARISE work on COVID-19 in Bangladesh.
Government COVID-19 disease control efforts in many contexts have been critiqued as simultaneously inadequate and authoritarian, causing widespread suffering. “Top-down,” bio-security focused approaches aimed at achieving behavioral change through information dissemination and legal measures have often been ineffective in informal urban settlements, for a range of reasons related to the nature of citizen-state relationships. Community […]
In this episode we hear from our co-host Robinson Karuga on his role as a Research, Evaluation and Learning Manager at LVCT. Robinson has been part of a team implementing a participatory action research approach to improve health and wellbeing in two informal settlements in Nairobi. Robinson shares with us: How data collected with community co-researchers […]
In this episode we talk about COVID-19 and how travel and public health restrictions presented challenges to ensuring that urban marginalised voices were heard by researchers and policy makers in India and Bangladesh. Our impressive guests Professor Sabina Faiz Rashid and Senior Research Fellow Dr Surekha Garimella discuss the importance of having established long-term relationships […]
In this week’s episode we will be discussing the intersections between research and activism for social change. With our guests Vinodkumar Rao and Joseph Kimani, we will be seeking to understand how lessons from activist approaches can be applied within research and vice versa. We will also explore how power, participation and social justice fits […]
In this week’s episode we are talking to Inviolata Njoroge from LVCT Health in Kenya and Shrutika Murthy from The George Institute for Global Health (TGI), India. They shared their experiences of using visual methods and storytelling to bridge the power-laden distances between the lived realities of waste pickers, child headed households, the elderly and […]
“Responding to COVID-19: Community Preparedness and Management of Public Health Emergency” is a sub-project under the ARISE project supported by ARISE Responsive Fund. This project was co-designed and jointly implemented by ARISE project’s research partner BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health (JPGSPH), BRAC University, community mobilization partner BRAC Urban Development Programme (UDP) and […]
Authors: Farzana Manzoor, Wafa Alam, Imran Hossain, Nadia Farnaz, Bachera Aktar, Sabina Faiz Rashid Objective To explore different forms of social capital networks, exist in urban slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh and how these social capital networks were helpful during the pandemic. Method A cross-sectional study with a qualitative approach was conducted in three urban slums […]
Perception and attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination among urban slum dwellers in Dhaka, Bangladesh
W. Alam, BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh Background Vaccine hesitancy – ‘delay in acceptance or reluctance or refusal to vaccination despite the availability of vaccination services’ – It is identified as one of the ten major threats to global health in 2019 Bangladesh started its COVID-19 vaccination drive […]
N. Farnaz, F. Manzoor, W. Alam, B. Aktar, S. F. Rashid | BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University Dhaka, Bangladesh Background Community Health Workers (CHWs) bridge the gap between communities living in urban informal settlements and formal health systems 130,000 CHWs employed in Bangladesh – 50,000 by the government, 50,000 in […]
Bachera Aktar (bachera.aktar@bracu.ac.bd), BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK Background One-third of the population of Dhaka city, the capital of Bangladesh, live in slums (BBS, 2015) which are often left out of urban planning and development (Banks, 2011). There is a lack […]
