Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Unfulfilled Farmer Expectations: The Case Of The Insect Resistant Maize For Africa (Irma) Project In Kenya, Obidimma Ezezika, Justin Mabeya

Health Studies Publications

Background: Maize is the most important staple food in Kenya; any reduction in production and yield therefore often becomes a national food security concern. To address the challenge posed by the maize stem borer, the Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA) agricultural biotechnology public-private partnership (PPP) project was launched in 1999. There were, however, pre-existing concerns regarding the use of genetic engineering in crop production and skepticism about private sector involvement. The purpose of this case study was to understand the role of trust in the IRMA partnership by identifying the challenges to, and practices for, building trust in the …

Slides: Nokero: Power To The Powerless, Stephen Katsaros

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Stephen Katsaros, Inventor, Founder, and CEO, Nokero

13 slides

The Study Of Hiv And Antenatal Care Integration In Pregnancy In Kenya: Design, Methods, And Baseline Results Of A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial, Janet M. Turan, Rachel L. Steinfeld, Maricianah Onono, Elizabeth A. Bukusi, Meghan Woods, Starley B. Shade, Sierra Washington, Reson Marima, Jeremy Penner, Marta L. Ackers, Dorothy Mbori-Ngacha, Craig R. Cohen

Pathology, East Africa

Background: Despite strong evidence for the effectiveness of anti-retroviral therapy for improving the health of women living with HIV and for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), HIV persists as a major maternal and child health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. In most settings antenatal care (ANC) services and HIV treatment services are offered in separate clinics. Integrating these services may result in better uptake of services, reduction of the time to treatment initiation, better adherence, and reduction of stigma.

Methodology/Principal Findings: A prospective cluster randomized controlled trial design was used to evaluate the effects of integrating HIV treatment into ANC …

The Prevalence Of Essential Hypertension In Kasigau, Kenya, Lindsay Williams

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Hypertension is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease worldwide. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a widespread chronic non-communicable disease (NCD) which is on the rise in developing countries. Evidence based on extensive research studies on risk factors for NCDs suggests that they could be easily significantly decreased by simply controlling their risk factors. Although high blood pressure has been recognized as a leading risk factor for CVD, little research has been done to document the prevalence and incidence of essential hypertension (EH) in lower socioeconomic developing countries. One such country is Kenya. It was found in our research study that Kasigau …

Bigpic: Bridging Income Generation With Provision Of Incentives For Care, Sonak Pastakia

Changing World Conference

No abstract provided.

Positive Action For Hiv In Schools In Kenya, Francis Obare, Harriet Birungi, Monica Wanjiru, Sheila Bayley, John Kiunjuri, Mary Omondi, Rob Burnet, Bridget Deacon

Reproductive Health

The objective of this study was to test the feasibility of using comic books, role models, and edutainment to communicate HIV and AIDS messages to in-school young people in Kenya, with a view to improving their knowledge about the epidemic, enhancing communication about it, and promoting positive attitudes and behavior among them. The study was implemented by the Population Council in eight secondary schools in Nairobi, as part of the APHIA II Operations Research Project in collaboration with the AIDS Control Unit in the Ministry of Education, Well Told Story, and the National AIDS/STI Control Programme. The study found that …

The Africa Regional Sexual And Gender-Based Violence Network Annual Partners Meeting: June 26-27 2012, Mombasa, Kenya—Meeting Report, Population Council

Reproductive Health

The Population Council convened an annual partners meeting of its Africa Regional Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Network. Over 30 participants attended the meeting whose objectives were: 1) to facilitate South-South technical exchange and information-sharing on the changing landscape of violence among partners, donors, and other experts; and 2) to reflect on the ways in which research is translating into policy and practice. This report highlights the myriad ways in which activities conducted under this Network have influenced policy, practice, and funding considerations in the region, while detailing the progress of Network partners on their projects, built around several key …

Expanding Access To Comprehensive Reproductive Health And Hiv Information And Services For Married Adolescent Girls In Nyanza Province, Chi-Chi Undie, Harriet Birungi, Francis Obare, Ben Ochieng, Wilson Liambila, Erick Oweya, Ian Askew, Rob Burnet, Bridget Deacon, Aisha Mohamed

Reproductive Health

The objectives of this operations research study, conducted by the Population Council’s APHIA II Operations Research Project in Kenya, were to: 1) identify and design a set of interventions that promote the uptake of comprehensive reproductive health (RH)/family planning (FP) and HIV prevention services and information among married adolescent girls; and 2) expand access to comprehensive RH/FP and HIV prevention services and information among this population. The study demonstrated that the combined use of interactive media and community health worker visitation, health information provision, and referrals, is an effective means of reinforcing RH/FP and HIV messages, and of increasing access …

Encounters With Witchcraft, Norman Miller

Dartmouth Scholarship

My first experience with witchcraft in Africa occurred in March 1960 in Mombasa, Kenya, just as I stepped off the gangway of the MS Inchanga following a voyage from India. Next to the ship in a dockside kiosk I saw a newspaper with the headline, “European Geologist Attacked in Gogoland: Witchcraft Suspected.” It was the story of a 22-year-old British geologist, William Hanning, who had been prospecting for minerals in a remote part of nearby Tanzania when by mistake he dug into a burial ground. He was believed to be a witch, disguised as a European, out to steal body …

Replication Of The Community Mobilization For Postabortion Care (Commpac) Model In Naivasha District, Rift Valley Province, Kenya: An Evaluation Report, Chi-Chi Undie, Francis Obare, Saumya Ramarao

Reproductive Health

The Population Council’s RESPOND project worked with districts and communities in Kenya to: strengthen service delivery points to provide postabortion care (PAC) services; conduct community mobilization to improve involvement in and knowledge of the prevention and treatment of postabortion complications; build community capacity to address needs related to PAC; and encourage involvement in community action of those most marginalized and most affected by postabortion complications. The program succeeded at increasing knowledge of critical danger signs; enabling providers to effectively offer PAC services; and raising awareness of PAC, among other goals. The intervention was less successful in increasing FP knowledge, current …

Routine Screening For Intimate Partner Violence In Public Health Care Settings In Kenya: An Assessment Of Acceptability, Chi-Chi Undie, Catherine Maternowska, Margaret Mak'anyengo, Harriet Birungi, Jill Keesbury, Ian Askew

Reproductive Health

Most research on intimate-partner violence (IPV) screening has been conducted in developed countries, so this study in Kenya serves as one of the first in a developing-country context to assess the acceptability of IPV screening from the perspective of providers and clients in public healthcare settings. The study conducted in Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi found that routine screening for IPV is acceptable to providers and clients at that location. However, to be effective as a routine service, the system needs to be reinforced in specific ways, including greater assurance of confidentiality, more positive provider attitudes, and higher respect for …

Defining Effective Voucher Management Information Systems: A Blueprint For Information Systems To Support Scalable Reproductive Health Voucher Programs, Based On System Evaluations With Programs In Bangladesh, Cambodia, Kenya, Uganda, And Tanzania, Mahad Ibrahim, Benjamin Bellows, Jaspal S. Sandhu

Reproductive Health

This document defines the key elements of information systems to support the development of effective, scalable voucher information systems. It is based on an engagement between the Gobee Group and the Population Council to strengthen information systems of reproductive health voucher programs in five countries in 2011–12. At the time of publication of this document, the Population Council was in the midst of a multiyear evaluation of five of the biggest reproductive health programs worldwide, an effort supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. While the work supporting this report has been focused on reproductive health voucher programs—which provide …

Building Effective Partnerships: The Role Of Trust In The Virus Resistant Cassava For Africa Project, Obidimma Ezezika, Justin Mabeya, Abdallah S. Daar

Health Studies Publications

Background: Virus Resistant Cassava for Africa (VIRCA) is an agricultural biotechnology public-private partnership (PPP) comprising the Donald Danforth Plant Sciences Center (DDPSC), National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) of Uganda and Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). The project seeks to develop virus-resistant cassava for farmers in Kenya and Uganda. Yet, there is much public skepticism about the use of genetically modified (GM) crops and private sector involvement in Africa. This case study sought to understand the role of trust in the VIRCA partnership. Methods: We conducted semi-structured, face-to-face interviews to obtain stakeholders’ views on the challenges to, and practices for, building …

A Qualitative Study Using Traditional Community Assemblies To Investigate Community Perspectives On Informed Consent And Research Participation In Western Kenya, Rachel Vreeman, Eunice Kamaara, Allan Kamanda, David Ayuku, Winstone Nyandiko, Lukoye Atwoli, Samuel Ayaya, Peter Gisore, Michael Scanlon, Paula Braitstein

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

Background: International collaborators face challenges in the design and implementation of ethical biomedical research. Evaluating community understanding of research and processes like informed consent may enable researchers to better protect research participants in a particular setting; however, there exist few studies examining community perspectives in health research, particularly in resource-limited settings, or strategies for engaging the community in research processes. Our goal was to inform ethical research practice in a biomedical research setting in western Kenya and similar resource-limited settings.

Methods: We sought to use mabaraza, traditional East African community assemblies, in a qualitative study to understand community perspectives on …

The Cost Of Reaching The Most Disadvantaged Girls: Programmatic Evidence From Egypt, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, South Africa, And Uganda, Jessica Sewall-Menon, Judith Bruce, Karen Austrian, Raven Brown, Jennifer Catino, Alejandra Colom, Angel Del Valle, Habtamu Demele, Annabel Erulkar, Kelly Hallman, Eva Roca, Nadia Zibani

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The most disadvantaged adolescent girls are the poorest girls from the poorest communities. They suffer from human rights abuses, lack education and economic opportunity, are affected by HIV/AIDS, and have poor reproductive and maternal health outcomes. To effectively reach these girls so that they can receive critical services such as gathering spaces, life skills, financial literacy, savings accounts, and reproductive health knowledge, they must be targeted as a distinct segment. It is important to invest in building the capacities of local partners and governments to deliver and scale-up low-cost, well-targeted programs. This technical report is intended to assist programmatic officers, …

A Review And Evaluation Of Multi-Sectoral Response Services ('One-Stop Centers') For Gender-Based Violence In Kenya And Zambia, Jill Keesbury, Washington Onyango-Ouma, Chi-Chi Undie, Catherine Maternowska, Frederick Mugisha, Emmy Kageha, Ian Askew

Reproductive Health

An increasingly popular strategy for addressing sexual gender based violence (SGBV) is through the establishment of one-stop centers‘ (OSCs), which provide integrated, multi-disciplinary services in a single physical location. The goals of this assessment were two-fold: first, to assess the effectiveness of different OSC models in terms of health and legal outcomes for survivors, and the cost-effectiveness of these models; and second, to identify lessons learned in OSC implementation with recommendations for both start-up and scale-up. Findings from this study offer the first form of systematic evidence on the effectiveness of OSCs, which can guide national-level policymakers and program managers …

Community Midwifery Services In Kenya: Implementation Guidelines, Kenya Ministry Of Health

Reproductive Health

Community midwifery guidelines by the Kenya Minister for Health have been revised in order to standardize the implementation of community midwifery services as a strategy for improving skilled attendance in the provision of maternal and newborn health care at the community level. The revised guidelines address key policies that are outlined in the Kenya Health Policy regarding the provision of essential packages for health in line with the new constitution, Vision 2030, and the Community Health Strategy. The policy emphasizes a shift of focus to preventive and promotive health care; major strategies include improving access, realizing equity goals, and providing …

Country Mapping: Kenya, Francis Obare, Wilson Liambila, Harriet Birungi, Eseoise Itombra, Heather Clark, Saumya Ramarao

Reproductive Health

The Population Council embarked on a three-year project to explore the acceptability of the progesterone vaginal ring (PVR) among women in sub-Saharan Africa and to develop a strategic plan for its introduction. This technical report presents the findings of the assessments in Kenya with specific focus on: (1) the country’s demographic profile; (2) the health systems, health policy, and family planning program context; and (3) stakeholder perspectives regarding the PVR. The findings suggest that the introduction of the PVR would fill a gap in the family planning needs of breastfeeding women in Kenya, and there is strong support from stakeholders …

Strengthening The Delivery Of Comprehensive Reproductive Health Services Through The Community Midwifery Model In Kenya, Wilson Liambila, Francis Obare, Chi-Chi Undie, Harriet Birungi, Shiphrah Kuria, Ruth Wayua Muia, Assumpta Matekwa

Reproductive Health

The overall objective of this project was to strengthen the delivery of family planning/reproductive health and HIV (FP/RH/HIV) services at the community level. The interventions included revision of existing guidelines and protocols for the community midwifery approach, training of providers, provision of equipment and supplies, and creating awareness on the use of community referral cards. In addition, cost analysis of community midwives’ services and willingness-to-pay assessments for various reproductive health services among current and potential users of community midwifery services were undertaken. The results showed that the community midwifery model improved clients’ access to a comprehensive package of RH/HIV including …