Improved housing doubles across Sub-Saharan Africa but millions remain in slums

The prevalence housing with improved water and sanitation has doubled in sub-Saharan Africa between 2000 and 2015, according to new research. Using state-of-the-art mapping, researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Imperial College London and the Malaria Atlas Project, University of Oxford, have provided the first accurate estimate of urban and rural housing quality in sub-Saharan Africa. The findings reveal that the prevalence of improved housing doubled from 11% in 2000 to 23% in 2015, but the researchers also estimate that among the countries analysed, 53 million Africans in urban areas still lived in slum conditions in 2015. "These findings highlight that poor sanitation remains commonplace across much of sub-Saharan Africa, which may be holding back progress to improve living conditions," said Dr Samir Bhatt , from Imperial's School of Public Health. "Our study demonstrates that people are widely investing in their homes, but there is also an urgent need for governments to help improve water and sanitation infrastructure." Adequate housing is linked with a number of health outcomes including mental health, respiratory disease, diarrhoeal disease, and vector borne diseases, such as malaria. Addressing the housing needs of a growing population is therefore key to sustainable urban development and the health and wellbeing of millions of Africans. Improving health outcomes.