Indicator Development for the Surveillance of Urban Emergencies Year Three Annual Report

Assessing urban emergencies/crisis and
finding effective means of responding to these
emergencies has become a major interest and
focus for many humanitarian actors given the
current rates of urbanization worldwide. Concern
is currently undertaking large-scale routine data
collection in informal settlements (slums) of
Nairobi and other major urban areas in Kenya.
The study, now in its third year, has resulted in
the collection of baseline household information
on WASH, food security, personal security,
livelihoods, morbidity, and coping strategies in
five informal settlements over eight rounds. This
report will summarize findings from our third
year in operation, August 2012 to December
2013, which reveals that several domains have
the potential to be key indicators of urban crisis
onset. These domains, such as income, food
security indices, MUAC, personal security/
shocks, and the use of coping strategies, show
major variation across areas, time, and within
communities.