Nairobi - The United National Environment Programme (UNEP) on Monday launched a wide-ranging initiative to help the Kenyan government deal with waste disposal, air pollution and cleaning up of rivers in the capital Nairobi.

"UNEP, in common with Nairobi's 4.5 million citizens, have watched with growing alarm and concern the rapid environmental deterioration of our host city as a result of persistent and emerging challenges," Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said in a statement.

"The loss of these environmental assets can be reversed and indeed must be reversed as they will underpin much of Nairobi's economic prospects over the coming years and decades," he added.

UNEP said that full details of the plan, which will work in conjunction with the government's Nairobi Metro 2030: A vision for a World-Class Metropolis plan will be unveiled shortly.

Nairobi suffers from serious air pollution.

The city's snarled traffic pumps out exhaust fumes and waste dumps also pollute the air, creating health problems for the city's inhabitants, many of who live in slums with no sewage systems, electricity or running water.

The plan aims to tackle the 30-acre Dandora dump, which receives 2,000 tonnes of rubbish each day, and relocate it to a modern landfill site, UNEP said.

The dump has been identified as a major health hazard, not just to those who make their living picking through the waste, but also to those who live nearby. The dump also pollutes the Nairobi River.

A study funded by the UN found that many children around the dump suffer from respiratory illnesses and have high levels of heavy metals and other poisons in their blood.

UNEP said it would commit funding and look for other support to fast-track plans to eliminate the 300 points where direct discharge of sewage, heavy metals, oils and other pollutants into the Nairobi and Ngong rivers have been identified (dpa)