Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System (NUHDSS)

The Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System (NUHDSS) is a pioneer urban HDSS in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) that has been operational since 2002. It was established in two slum communities in Nairobi (Korogocho and Viwandani) following APHRC’s 2000 Nairobi Cross-sectional Slums Survey [link to https://aphrc.org/post/publications/urban-health-in-kenya-key-findings-the-2000-nairobi-cross-sectional-slum-survey-2] (NCSS). The study showed that slum residents have the worst health and socioeconomic outcomes of any group in Kenya, including rural residents, with limited access to water and sanitation as well as education and employment. Further, it was revealed that there was a marked absence of the public sector and law enforcement agencies as well no legal land entitlements. Not only were they more likely to have poorer health outcomes, but they were also more likely to be exposed to violence and social unrest.

The NUHDSS provides a platform to investigate the long-term consequences of urban slum residence on health and socioeconomic outcomes. It also serves as a research tool for monitoring impact of interventions by the government and other development agencies, for example, the ongoing impact evaluation of HIV/AIDS initiatives.

The platform routinely collects data on demographic events (births, deaths, and migrations), health outcomes (morbidity, cause of death through verbal autopsy, child vaccination, and nutrition) and socio-economic outcomes (marriage, education, livelihood, and housing characteristics). Additionally, the NUHDSS also serves as a platform for other specialized studies focusing on urbanization, population, education, family planning, reproductive and general health conditions of the urban poor.

The NUHDSS data are freely available for public use upon request (https://aphrc.org/catalog/microdata/index.php/catalog). The key indicators and findings from the demographic data and other studies nested in the NUHDSS are disseminated to residents of the two slums, research community, and national and international stakeholders.