The crisis that followed the elections in December 2007 dramatically worsened living conditions for the population of Nairobi and especially for slum dwellers. Sanitary services in the Kibera community and other slums in Nairobi are totally inadequate for the needs of the people who usually live in the area, while a new influx of displaced persons risks aggravating the situation for the most vulnerable, children in particular. In response to this crisis in the country, Amref conducted a preliminary analysis of the priority sanitation requirements and launched a project to help people in the refugee camps springing up in the city and the Kibera slum. The project’s medical staff examined 9,764 patients in three months (February – April 2008), finding the same pathologies throughout the various refugee camps: acute respiratory infections, intestinal infections and skin diseases and a high number of malaria cases. In addition to providing treatment, numerous educational and training sessions were organized on various themes: from basic hygiene to nutrition, from methods of producing drinking water (scarce and often contaminated in refugee camps) to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria prevention. Parallel to these initiatives, the project provided consulting services, free HIV tests, diagnostic counseling for tuberculosis and a wide range of other services and lab tests. There was a special focus on women. A family planning program was implemented to promote and defend the health and nutrition condition of poor families Pregnant women were provided prenatal services (lab tests, iron tablets, folic acid and anti-tetanus jabs) and information. Children from 0 to 5 were vaccinated against tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B, meningitis and polio in an effort to reduce infant sickness and mortality rates. Following monitoring of infant growth in children under 5, nutrition campaigns providing mixtures of cereals and vitamin A were launched to deal with the worst cases of malnutrition. A great many children suffer traumas caused by crisis, disorder and violence. For them in particular but also for adults, a psychological support unit was set up to organize group and individual psychotherapy sessions.
