Wicklife Ojallah
The impacts of climate change (CC) disproportionately affect residents based on their capacity to absorb adaptive costs. This study examined socio-economic vulnerabilities and adaptive capacities to climate change impacts among the residents of informal settlements in Kisumu City, Kenya. It specifically assessed the common climate change impacts; socio-economic vulnerabilities to climate change impacts; and the effectiveness of adaptive capacity to climate change impacts among the residents in the study area. The study was based on resilience theory, which interrogates the promotive factors classified as assets and resources. Assets are the system’s internal positive factors, while resources are external influences. The study target population was 360,000 residents and used a mixed-methods approach based on an exploratory sequential design. Quantitative data were collected using systematic review and thematic content analysis. Qualitative data were gathered through Focused Group Discussions (FGDs), Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), guided observations, and document analysis. Informal settlements were chosen based on their representative nature of CC impacts in the study area. The study established that fluvial floods, erratic rainfall and extreme atmospheric thermal conditions continue to disrupt the livelihoods of the residents in the study area. The common social vulnerabilities are accelerated ‘epigenetic clocks’, Meningitis, 75% of new HIV/AIDS infections among people aged 15 to 34 years, pneumonia and waterborne diseases like schistosomiasis, typhoid fever, and diarrheal diseases. Economic challenges include high cost of living, high transport pricing, and increased taxation. Preferred adaptive responses include USAID, migration to neighbouring counties such as Busia County, dependence on relief materials, delight power, which are inadequate to guarantee proper resilience. The study recommends new work arrangements to reduce exposure to heat waves for minimising health risks, such as epigenetic clocks, preferential tax subsidies as a favourable tax treatment to the residents, equal employment opportunities and improving medical insurance cover, like SHA and SHIF of Kenya.