Livelihood assets and food consumption level of slum dwellers in some selected areas of Dhaka city of Bangladesh

This study analyzes the socioeconomic characteristics, identifies the livelihood assets, determines the calorie intake level, and identifies the problems and constraints faced by the slum dwellers among randomly selected 60 households from Korail and Noyapara slums in Dhaka city. The study result reveals that the low share of old people in slums is nothing but a result of bad living and health conditions in slums. A very large share (almost 90 percent) of slum dwellers having less than 10 years of schooling is explained as an alarming sign. The amount of money the slum dwellers earn is 6 times lower compared to the average national income, which affects the slum dweller in a multidimensional way. For most of the key influencers of livelihood, this study finds that slum dwellers live in a vulnerable situation. Regarding calorie intake, about 90 percent of the total slum population belongs to ultra-poor, hard-core poor, and absolute poor categories, which need immediate action. As for problems and constraints, most of the slum dwellers indicate inadequate income, lack of housing space, water crisis, and lack of proper sanitation as their major problems.