Publication

STEPS Working Paper 44

‘It is our Dirty Little Secret’: An Ethnographic Study of the Flying Toilets in Kibera Slums, Nairobi

Published on 11 June 2025

Using the case study of the Kibera slums, this paper takes a medical anthropological approach to discuss and explain the untold and common practice among the urban poor in developing countries that is informally known as the ‘Flying Toilets’. This paper seeks to inform those working within the public health sector about such practices, but also to serve as a platform that can serve health promotion strategies and approaches geared toward such practices. International and local experts working in the discipline of water and sanitation and public health continue to miss the mark toward the improvement and promotion of health because of such secret informal practices as the Flying Toilets. For progress to occur, such practices must be understood and eradicated. Specifically, it cannot be assumed that an indicator such as community and family connection to a public sewer, a septic system, simple latrine or a ventilated improved latrine, as postulated by UNICEF and WHO, automatically improves sanitation. Demographic size/patterns, behaviour, and historical factors must be considered in light of all these variables. The Flying Toilet as a public hazard will be discussed in the political, historical, and economic context affecting the residents of the Kibera slums. In the context of this paper, we will interrogate the causes, organization, and the effects of the Flying Toilets

Cite this publication

Lusambili, A. (2011) ‘It is our Dirty Little Secret’: An Ethnographic Study of the Flying Toilets in Kibera Slums, Nairobi, STEPS Working Paper 44, Brighton: STEPS Centre

Publication details

published by
STEPS Centre
authors
Lusambili, Adelaide
isbn
9781858649765
language
English

Share

Related content

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.