Farming is very difficult and low paid in rural areas of Brazil, which lead to a huge increase in Rio de janeiros population due to job opportunities. However people would arrive with little to no money and were forced to build their own homes (favelas) out of whatever materials they could find
Hygiene: Poor sanitation so diseases (e.g. dengue fever) spread qucikly
Hygiene: Only 50% of house have a toilet, and 30% of these have no sewage connections.
Hygiene: Sewers are often open drains that are running at street level, this is a major health hazard
Hygiene: 12% of households do not have running water, making personal hygiene difficult
Hygiene: Rubbish for collection is left out for a long time, this rubbish begins to rot and becomes a source of disease
Building quality/safety issues: Favela crammed onto steep hillside, tropical storms can lead to landslides and many houses will be destroyed and many deaths
Building quality/safety issues: When rubbish is burned it can set fire to nearby wooden houses
Building quality/safety issues: Residents use illegal connections (gatos) to overhead pylons to secure electricity. Can cause fires and deaths by electrocution
Building quality/safety issues: Favelas run by gangs that are involve in drug trafficking, gun crime, murder and many more crimes. 80 people die each day in Rio and majority of those deaths are due to gangs
Building quality/safety issues: Rocinha is the most feared favela. Police do not patrol on foot unless they are heavilyarmed and they sometimes use armoured cars
Social/economic issues: Unemployment rates are high and most of those who do have jobs work in the informal sector, less than $100 a month and work is not guaranteed
Social/economic issues: Favelas extremely overcrowded, 37,000 people in each square km of favela
Social/economic issues: Due to poor sanitation infant mortality rates are is 50%, higher in favelas than anywhere else in rio
Social/economic issues: Many live in poverty in favelas so cannot see a doctor or buy medicine if they are ill, therefore death rates are high. The life expectancy in Rios favelas is only 56