BACKGROUND
With a population of 54 million, Kenya is the economic, financial and transport hub of East Africa and has undergone significant political, structural and economic reforms over the past decade. It is one of the fastest-growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, recording an economic growth rate of 5.7% in 2019.
Despite the substantial progress achieved to date, the country continues to face serious challenges, including widespread poverty, profound social inequalities, the adverse impacts of global climate change, and an economy exposed to both external and internal shocks.
Socio-economic difficulties are most visibly concentrated in urban areas, where, due to the lack of affordable housing, a significant proportion of the population is forced to reside in slums. In these densely populated areas, formal infrastructure – such as piped water, sewage systems and electricity – is entirely absent. As a result, residents are compelled to live in extremely poor public hygiene and public health conditions, posing a significant risk to their well-being.
WHY DO WE WORK HERE?
Every day, millions of people in Kenya lack access to safe drinking water; nearly five million people do not have access to adequate sanitation facilities, and diseases resulting from poor hygiene and insufficient water supply claim thousands of lives each week. The problem particularly affects large urban slums, where the complete absence of formal infrastructure and severe overcrowding create heightened public hygiene and public health risks for the millions living there.
Since 2010, the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta has been engaged in water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) development in urban slums in East Africa, including Kenya. Our objective is to improve the living conditions of individuals and communities facing multiple and overlapping challenges — including disadvantages in housing, employment and education — by implementing solutions that provide the most appropriate and effective responses to their needs.
OUR PARTNERS
National center
International relations
1011. Budapest, Bem rakpart 28.
Tel.: +36-1-391-4700
Fax: +36-1-391-4728
E-mail: nemzetkozi@maltai.hu
