V3I3P10

Exploring The Main Causes of Overcrowding and Infectious Disease in Karaan District, Somalia

Dahir Barre Mohamed^1*

Abstract

This study examines the main causes of overcrowding and infectious disease in Karaan District, Banadir region, Somalia. Overcrowding is a critical societal and population health issue that negatively influences the living conditions, health, and disease spread, especially in low-income urban areas.  A descriptive research design is used, and data were collected from 40 respondents (Community elders, female household leaders, youth representatives, health workers, and local administrators) through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and field observations. The analysis comments on the perception of community members and the lived experiences of congested housing conditions. Results indicate that poverty, internal displacement, rural-urban migration, lack of housing infrastructure, high rental, and poor family planning facilities are some of the factors causing overcrowding in Karaan District. Most families live in small, poorly ventilated homes with many family members that share sanitation and water facilities. This form of living enhances the spread of respiratory diseases, diarrheal diseases, measles and other communicable diseases and children below the age of five and the elderly are the most susceptible. Lack of ability to isolate infected people and practice proper hygiene adds to the further spread of diseases. The paper is able to conclude that overcrowding in the Karaan District is a structural and a socioeconomic problem which is tightly related to poverty, urbanization and poor infrastructure. The solutions to infectious disease transmission involve multi-sectoral interventions that integrate better housing and water and sanitation systems and better primary healthcare systems, which should include poverty reduction strategies. Addressing the social determinants of health, such as overcrowding, is a key to long-term improvement in the social health of the urban Somali.

Keywords:

Overcrowding, Infectious Disease, Urban Health, Housing, Social Determinants of Health, Karaan, Somalia