Responding Early to Urban Crisis

The Indicator Development for Surveillance of Urban Emergencies (IDSUE), a study funded by the United States Agency for International Development – Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and implemented by Concern Worldwide Kenya (Concern), was born out of growing interest in predicting and averting urban food security crises. This was in recognition of the high rates of urbanisation taking place, particularly within the sub-Sahara African region. Despite growing recognition of vulnerability associated with urbanisation, urban environments and the actors working in them have been plagued with a dearth of information suitable for monitoring changes in urban contexts. Until recently urban areas were often excluded from or under-sampled in national and sub-national surveys. Even when they are included, data is rarely disaggregated between wealthier urban localities and slums, leading to a homogenization that hides the true situation in both areas. The central question that IDSUE seeks to address is: How do we know when a situation has gone from chronic poverty to an acute crisis in an urban slum?

In order to answer this question, IDSUE has collected large-scale routine household data on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), food and personal security, livelihoods and negative coping strategies in five informal settlements in Nairobi and Kisumu in Kenya. This brief outlines the objectives and methodology employed by IDSUE and presents findings from the most recent rounds of data collection. Findings have been interpreted for humanitarian and development practitioners and explore implications for early warning systems and response. Recommendations are presented for consideration by state and non-state actors.