Biblio

African cities are undergoing unprecedented growth. This growth and especially the attendant disproportionate in the population of poor city residents poses new challenges not only in the region but more so in Ethiopia and Kenya given their increasing urbanization and HIV/AIDS prevalence. Past studies have shown that the situation of extreme deprivation in slum areas traps youth, and more so girls, into engaging in risky sexual behaviour for economic survival. Using the microcosm Kassanjis (Addis Ababa) and Kibera (Nairobi), employs both in-depth and questionnaire interviews to collect relevant data that is analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The study sought to capture the interface of slum deprivation and the tendency for risky sexual behaviour among slum youth in Addis Ababa and Nairobi cities of Ethiopia and Kenya respectively. The results prove that there is a causal relationship between unemployment, slum youth, poverty and vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. The findings illuminate the need to treat slum youth as a sub-population uniquely vulnerable to reproductive health problems, and to expend more resources in slum settings. More importantly, that this vulnerability should be factored in when designing HIV/AIDS and other reproductive health programs.