This archive report was first published on 26 June 2020.
In Nairobi, Kenya, nearly 80% of the population lives in informal settlements, where families of day laborers often share a single house.
Before the pandemic, many families struggled to pay their bills and lacked resources to cover emergencies. The economic crisis has widened these gaps, with a growing number of parents losing their jobs.
Those most affected are parents with lower incomes or those living from hand to mouth. However, the pandemic has also hit families in the service industry, including those in restaurants, hotels, retail, and transportation, who often live from paycheck to paycheck.
Without jobs, many parents have lost health insurance, but bills continue to mount. The lack of schools and childcare providers has made it difficult for parents to seek new employment, and the health risk has limited their ability to ask older relatives for help.
COVID-19 and the necessary mitigation measures have been a devastating one-two punch for vulnerable households. Frontline service workers are risking their health, but many cannot access medical care due to a lack of insurance.
While some families are fortunate enough to continue working from home, this privilege is not universal.
