When it rains the houses are flooded out and the workers have to leave until they dry out. The impression upon entering these districts is one of entering a war zone with row upon row of crumbling houses. The walls have big cracks in them, the plaster is falling away and quite often bits of the roof have been blown away by the wind. In these one-room apartments, it is not uncommon to find a family of ten. There is no water, no proper sanitation.
Sewage spills down the roads.
There are no medical facilities in these districts, no hospitals or clinics. Due to the unsanitary conditions and the overcrowded nature of these areas, diseases are on the rise, such as cholera, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, yellow fever. Last year there was an epidemic of cholera and cerebral spinal meningitis. These are all high-density areas. Possibly, more than five million people live in them.