Indoor air pollution as an issue of nonattention in Nairobi’s informal settlements

58 percent of Nairobi’s population live in slums under extremely poor and unhealthy conditions. In these settlements, pneumonia is one of the top causes of health issues and deaths among children and adults, for which indoor air pollution is a known contributor. Yet, the topic of indoor air pollution receives no attention. Regulatory frameworks and budgets for indoor air pollution do not exist and humanitarian organisations neglect the topic despite its drastic health effects. This paper addresses the dynamics of indoor air pollution from two sides: It investigates the underlying structural mechanisms of organisational and governmental attention dynamics. It also analyses how government policies interact with these mechanisms and create indoor air pollution and health outcomes. We employed participatory system dynamics to investigate attention to indoor air pollution, to develop the model structure, policies and to discuss wider consequences. Participants included community members, local and central policy-makers, parastatals, NGOs and academics. Modelling suggests possible avenues to improve indoor air pollution in Nairobi’s informal settlements and the participatory process also gave insights into their feasibility. The participatory work also showed some potential of awakening and mobilisng community attention.