Migration to urban areas is a regular phenomenon but climate induced displacement forced to migrate to cities over the recent years is a matter of concern. Increased frequency and severity of natural disasters by climate change over the past recent years are not only displacing people physically but also exposing to enhanced poverty by threatening their livelihoods temporarily and permanently. ...

Introduction India is urbanizing at a rapid pace. Moreover, a quarter of the urban population lives in slum areas [1]. Unfavorable social determinants in health and huge inequities in access to healthcare within urban India leave the urban poor with dismal health indicators [2]. The burden from chronic diseases is also on rise in India, disproportionately so for urban population, and is now the...

BACKGROUND An outbreak of measles was reported from a slum, UT, Chandigarh in April 2003. Similar outbreak was also reported in less than three years from the same and adjoining areas. The present study was conducted to investigate and assess various epidemiological features associated with measles outbreak. MATERIAL AND METHODS Three cases of measles were admitted in Dept. of Paediatrics, Go...

Human infection by leptospires has highly variable clinical manifestations, which range from subclinical infection to fulminant disease. We conducted a population-based, cross-sectional seroepidemiologic study in Peru to determine potential relationships of environmental context to human exposure to Leptospira and disease associated with seroconversion. Three areas were studied: a flooded, urba...

This study aimed to (i) examine the contextual influences of urban slum residency on infant mortality and child stunting over and above individual and household characteristics and (ii) identify factors that might modify any adverse effects. We obtained data from Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 45 countries between 2000 and 2009. The respondents were women (15-49 years) and their ch...

Slums are examples of localized communities within third world urban systems representing a range of vulnerabilities and adaptive capacities. This study examines vulnerability in relation to flooding, environmental degradation, social-status, demographics, and health in the slums of Accra, Ghana by utilizing a place-based approach informed by fieldwork, remote sensing, census data, and geograph...

In India, "non-notified" slums are not officially recognized by city governments; they suffer from insecure tenure and poorer access to basic services than "notified" (government-recognized) slums. We conducted a study in a non-notified slum of about 12,000 people in Mumbai to determine the prevalence of individuals at high risk for having a common mental disorder (i.e., depression and anxiety)...

Water scarcity is a serious problem in the mega city Karachi. The problem is more pronounced in the slum areas of the city having poor infrastructure and limited facilities. This study presents a quality assessment of piped water supply in the biggest slum area of Asia; the Orangi town. Forty six samples of piped water were collected from different places and examined for bacteriological and ph...

A total of 1570 adolescent girls (aged 10-19 years) of rural, urban and slum areas in and around Dhaka city were investigated to determine the association of anaemia with parasitic infection. About one third (33.50%) of the adolescent girls were found to be infected with one or more protozoans (Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia) and helminths (Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichura, Stro...

BACKGROUND Inhabitants of slum settlements represent a significant proportion of the population at risk for pneumococcal disease in developing countries. METHODS We conducted a household survey of pneumococcal carriage among residents of a slum community in the city of Salvador, Brazil. RESULTS Among 262 subjects, 95 (36%) were colonized with Streptococcus pneumoniae. Children <5 years of a...