Improving the health status of urban squatters- indicators and strategies

ABSTRACT

By the year 2000, 50% of the population of the world will be residing in the urban areas. Among them 50% will be living in conditions of extreme poverty and deprivation; they are "the fourth world people" largely from Asia. Karachi the largest city of Pakistan is also facing the problems of rapid urbanization. Currently 50-60% of the population lives in overcrowded slums and urban squatter settlements [Katchi Abadis]. The health status and quality of life as identified by high infant mortality rates in those areas is deplorable. This paper attempts to identify the indicators of health status and to propose strategies to achieve them. Infant mortality rates [IMP], the prevalence of low birth weight and undernutrition are the basic health status indicators. Among them IMR is associated with the socio-economic conditions of families, garbage disposal methods, breast feeding practices and immunization status of the infants, the "Supportive Indicators". This paper relates the indicators of health as adopted by the World Health Assembly in 1981 in the context of the urban squatters settlement of a developing country [HIGH U5MR COUNTRY] i.e. Pakistan. At the end strategies for improving the health are suggested. A debate is also generated about the contribution of modern scientific medicine versus socio-economic factors, so as to guide the planners of urban squatter settlement using these different indicators in planning, monitoring and evaluating the programme