Fewer Nairobi slums residents don’t wear masks, says report

A new survey in Nairobi has shown that only a third of people living in informal settlements are wearing masks, as a measure to mitigate coronavirus disease.

The survey, conducted by World Customs Organisation shows that across the informal settlements, there were much lower rates of adherence to wearing of masks at 31 per cent with only 48 per cent of them wearing them properly.

This is despite the fact that nearly all respondents, their social class notwithstanding, were aware of the requirement to wear masks in public places.

The organisation’s director Larry Liza said adherence to wearing masks was higher in upper class areas than in middle class areas while informal settlements had the lowest observance to this requirement.

“Within the upper classes, the study observed that 100 per cent of the population wore their masks in public places and 96 per cent of them wore them correctly.

It is likely that among the upper class there is a greater understanding of dangers posed by the virus,” said Liza, while presenting the findings of the survey from a Nairobi hotel yesterday.

Liza said the population has not fully embraced the directive to not only wear masks but also wear them correctly hence the need for sustained campaigns.

Wore masks

In the middle class, Liza said 83 per cent of the population wore masks in public places, down from 100 percent in the upper classes.

However, only two-thirds of the middle class, translating to about 64 per cent wore their masks properly.

Similarly, the survey showed that women fared better, with 76 per cent wearing their masks properly compared to 56 per cent of men.

“This meant that more men, 44 per cent, were exposed and vulnerable to getting infected where the masks would have prevented the infection compared to 24 per cent of women.

Again, this could be a reason that more men are reportedly infected with the virus than women,” he explained.

He said that even with the rising cases of confirmed cases in the country, some of respondents, especially from informal settlements still think that the deadly respiratory disease is a myth and doubt about its existence.

Some claimed they were yet to meet an infected person thus reduced fear and less adherence to regulations in absence of enforcement authorities.

Just like their counterparts in other societal classes, women in informal settlements showed greater adherence to proper wearing of masks, with 55 per cent of them wearing them correctly compared to 41 per cent of the men.

“This further potentially explains why more men have been exposed to the virus than women, along with a higher male population in the public spaces compared to women as of the time of this study,” he added.

The survey also found that a majority of respondents in informal settlements obtained information on the wearing of masks and on coronavirus mostly by word of mouth, with the numbers standing at 48 per cent.

Television enjoyed 24 per cent exclusivity among the respondents, with radio and social media at 16 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.

Newspapers registered insignificant figures among the informal settlement dwellers.

Among the middle class, social media and television were the most preferred sources of information, enjoying 30 per cent and 38 per cent  respectively.

These two mediums also stood as the most preferred among the upper class, with television enjoying 47 per cent exclusivity and social media with 26 per cent.

These preferences may be leveraged more in information and knowledge sharing across various social classes.

On mode of acquisition of masks, Liza said 80 per cent, 73 per cent and 83 percent of respondents in the upper class, middle class and informal settlements respectively purchased them.

More people in upper class (10 per cent) and in the middle class (nine per cent) obtained their masks for free compared to informal settlements at 7 per cent.

“This showed that the residents of the informal settlements remained disadvantaged in distribution of free masks.

Fewer masks were handmade across the social classes, with only two per cent of the upper class making their own masks compared to four per cent in the lower classes,” the survey found.

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