Living conditions and environmental health status in two informal settlements in the Cape Peninsula

The health status of communities is directly affected by the quality of their housing. When infrastructure and services are designed, environmental health risks and the particular community's knowledge, attitudes and practices concerning the environment and health should be taken into consideration. The South African Medical Research Council has established a programme to examine this issue, and under its aegis a study is being conducted in two coastal informal settlements in the Cape Peninsula. The household surveys which formed the first phase of this study revealed that the most common health problems were respiratory and diarrhoeal, and that the provision of environmental heath services is of paramount importance. The second phase of the study will seek to develop, implement and evaluate environmental health programmes in these communities.