Solid waste management policies in urban Africa: gender and life-course considerations in Nairobi and Mombasa
Building on available evidence that there are differences of exposure to solid waste among males and females at different stages of the life-course (children, youth, adults and older persons), it follows that effective SWM policies need to recognize such variations, as a prelude to rolling out programmes to address associated socio-economic and health risks. However, this logical scenario does not seem to be the case. In this paper, we use analytical review methodology to examine integrated environmental management and sector specific policies in Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya’s two biggest cities, to highlight the extent to which existing policies and practices cover the differential challenges of exposure to solid waste and associated health challenges for males and females across the life-course.