Strategic marketing of water services in developing countries

The recent (2000) global water supply and sanitation assessment by the World Health Organisation found that over one billion people do not have access to improved water supply. The finding points to the challenges faced by municipal engineers and other professionals responsible for the provision of water services in developing countries. Population growth and the increasing poverty, particularly in the urban areas, compound the challenge. A key objective for water utilities is to provide services to the growing population, including the poor, in a financially sustainable manner. Strategic marketing offers an innovative method of meeting this objective. Research aimed at adapting and developing a marketing approach for use in the water sector was carried out in a number of developing countries between 1999 and 2001, with detailed field research in Kenya, Uganda and India. This paper discusses strategic marketing of urban water services and provides a methodology that water utilities could use to structure their service delivery options to customers while meeting their financial objectives. The paper outlines how utilities could structure service delivery with appropriate pricing and serve more excluded customers (including the poor) at affordable cost and achieve financial sustainability. The paper concludes that strategic marketing of water services has potential to improve services to existing and excluded (potential) customers while improving the utility's revenue base

Awareness and Practice on Biomedical Waste Management among Health Care Personnel in Kenyatta National Hospital

Background: The proper handling and disposal of Bio-medical waste  (BMW) is very imperative. There are well defined set rules for handling BMW worldwide. Unfortunately, laxity and lack of adequate training and awareness in execution of these rules leads to staid health and environment apprehension.Objective: To assess the awareness and practice regarding biomedical waste management among health care personnel in Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH)Design: A cross sectional study design.Setting: Kenyatta National HospitalSubjects: Doctors, Nurses and support staff who have worked in the institution for more than six months and consented were evaluated.Results: The total level of awareness on biomedical waste management among health care personnel was found to be 60%. The doctors scored 51% which was the lowest score the nurses scored 65% which was the highest score while the support staff scored 55%. As for the practices, the results showed that most of the healthcare personnel were aware of the biomedical waste management practices in the hospital with the lowestscores emerging from doctors and this shows no association between knowledge on biomedical waste management and education. When asked how they would describe the control of waste management in the institution 59% said good and 40% said fair while 1% said poor.Conclusion: The present study therefore outlines the gap between  biomedical waste management rules and inadequate state of execution and awareness in practice. It is recommended that enhancement be done to the already existing Hospital Infection Control Committee to supervise all the aspects of biomedical waste management. Periodical training programmes for biomedical waste handling and disposal to the staff with focus on doctors is highlighted

Performance of management contracts in small towns water services

Although national and international institutions have put much effort in the field of water supply improvement during the last few years, coverage figures are still low. Many developing countries are taking initiatives to develop mechanisms of improving delivery of water supply services. One of the initiatives being employed is delegated management of water services to the private sector, through management contracts. Uganda started water sector reforms in 1997 and took steps to increase involvement of the private sector in management of its urban water services through management contracts in 2001. In Uganda, only 60% of urban areas and 55% of rural areas have access to improved water services. Against this background, this paper reports on research undertaken in Uganda, with the objective of analysing the performance of management contracts in the recent and still on-going reform and private sector participation process of the water sector. The research, which was undertaken as part of an MSc study, followed a case study methodology, and comprised a literature review, customer surveys, focussed group discussions and key informant interviews. The paper presents the research findings, and concludes that well planned and designed management contracts can potentially improve performance of small towns water systems for the benefit of the users of services

Socioeconomic Factors that Influence Smallholder Farmers’ Membership in a Dairy Cooperative Society in Embu County, Kenya

Smallholder dairy farmers produce the bulk of total marketed milk in Kenya. Dairy cooperatives are one of the avenues for these smallholder farmers to harness markets for their milk. The paper sought to find out the socioeconomic factors that would influence these farmers to join dairy cooperatives in Embu County, Kenya. Systematic random sampling and simple random sampling were used to select a total of 236 smallholder farmers. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics and the binomial logit model. The results show that age, gender, household size, herd size, distance to the nearest market, access to credit and milk sold influenced the decision to join cooperative societies. The study recommends further study whether cooperatives are improving the incomes of smallholder farmers. Keywords:Dairy cooperative society, smallholder farmers, Binomial logit mode

Using detergent to enhance detection sensitivity of African trypanosomes in human CSF and blood by Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP)

<p><b>Background:</b> The loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay, with its advantages of simplicity, rapidity and cost effectiveness, has evolved as one of the most sensitive and specific methods for the detection of a broad range of pathogenic microorganisms including African trypanosomes. While many LAMP-based assays are sufficiently sensitive to detect DNA well below the amount present in a single parasite, the detection limit of the assay is restricted by the number of parasites present in the volume of sample assayed; i.e. 1 per µL or 103 per mL. We hypothesized that clinical sensitivities that mimic analytical limits based on parasite DNA could be approached or even obtained by simply adding detergent to the samples prior to LAMP assay.</p> <p><b>Methodology/Principal Findings:</b> For proof of principle we used two different LAMP assays capable of detecting 0.1 fg genomic DNA (0.001 parasite). The assay was tested on dilution series of intact bloodstream form Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or blood with or without the addition of the detergent Triton X-100 and 60 min incubation at ambient temperature. With human CSF and in the absence of detergent, the LAMP detection limit for live intact parasites using 1 µL of CSF as the source of template was at best 103 parasites/mL. Remarkably, detergent enhanced LAMP assay reaches sensitivity about 100 to 1000-fold lower; i.e. 10 to 1 parasite/mL. Similar detergent-mediated increases in LAMP assay analytical sensitivity were also found using DNA extracted from filter paper cards containing blood pretreated with detergent before card spotting or blood samples spotted on detergent pretreated cards.</p> <p><b>Conclusions/Significance:</b> This simple procedure for the enhanced detection of live African trypanosomes in biological fluids by LAMP paves the way for the adaptation of LAMP for the economical and sensitive diagnosis of other protozoan parasites and microorganisms that cause diseases that plague the developing world.</p&gt

Infection of malaria (Anopheles gambiae s.s.) and filariasis (Culex quinquefasciatus) vectors with the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae

BACKGROUND: Current intra-domiciliary vector control depends on the application of residual insecticides and/or repellents. Although biological control agents have been developed against aquatic mosquito stages, none are available for adults. Following successful use of an entomopathogenic fungus against tsetse flies (Diptera: Glossinidae) we investigated the potency of this fungus as a biological control agent for adult malaria and filariasis vector mosquitoes. METHODS: In the laboratory, both sexes of Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto and Culex quinquefasciatus were passively contaminated with dry conidia of Metarhizium anisopliae. Pathogenicity of this fungus for An. gambiae was further tested for varying exposure times and different doses of oil-formulated conidia. RESULTS: Comparison of Gompertz survival curves and LT(50 )values for treated and untreated specimens showed that, for both species, infected mosquitoes died significantly earlier (p < 0.0001) than uninfected control groups. No differences in LT(50 )values were found for different exposure times (24, 48 hrs or continuous exposure) of An. gambiae to dry conidia. Exposure to oil-formulated conidia (doses ranging from 1.6 × 10(7 )to 1.6 × 10(10 )conidia/m(2)) gave LT(50 )values of 9.69 ± 1.24 (lowest dose) to 5.89 ± 0.35 days (highest dose), with infection percentages ranging from 4.4–83.7%. CONCLUSION: Our study marks the first to use an entomopathogenic fungus against adult Afrotropical disease vectors. Given its high pathogenicity for both adult Anopheles and Culex mosquitoes we recommend development of novel targeted indoor application methods for the control of endophagic host-seeking females

MalariaSphere: A greenhouse-enclosed simulation of a natural Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) ecosystem in western Kenya

BACKGROUND: The development and implementation of innovative vector control strategies for malaria control in Africa requires in-depth ecological studies in contained semi-field environments. This particularly applies to the development and release of genetically-engineered vectors that are refractory to Plasmodium infection. Here we describe a modified greenhouse, designed to simulate a natural Anopheles gambiae Giles ecosystem, and the first successful trials to complete the life-cycle of this mosquito vector therein. METHODS: We constructed a local house, planted crops and created breeding sites to simulate the natural ecosystem of this vector in a screen-walled greenhouse, exposed to ambient climate conditions, in western Kenya. Using three different starting points for release (blood-fed females, virgin females and males, or eggs), we allowed subsequent stages of the life-cycle to proceed under close observation until one cycle was completed. RESULTS: Completion of the life-cycle was observed in all three trials, indicating that the major life-history behaviours (mating, sugar feeding, oviposition and host seeking) occurred successfully. CONCLUSION: The system described can be used to study the behavioural ecology of laboratory-reared and wild mosquitoes, and lends itself to contained studies on the stability of transgenes, fitness effects and phenotypic characteristics of genetically-engineered disease vectors. The extension of this approach, to enable continuous maintenance of successive and overlapping insect generations, should be prioritised. Semi-field systems represent a promising means to significantly enhance our understanding of the behavioural and evolutionary ecology of African malaria vectors and our ability to develop and evaluate innovative control strategies. With regard to genetically-modified mosquitoes, development of such systems is an essential prerequisite to full field releases

<i>Trypanosoma evansi</i>: Genetic variability detected using amplified restriction fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis of Kenyan isolates

We compared two methods to generate polymorphic markers to investigate the population genetics of Trypanosoma evansi; random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and amplified restriction fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analyses. AFLP accessed many more polymorphisms than RAPD. Cluster analysis of the AFLP data showed that 12 T.evansi isolates were very similar (‘type A’) whereas 2 isolates differed substantially (‘type B’). Type A isolates have been generally regarded as genetically identical but AFLP analysis was able to identify multiple differences between them and split the type A T. evansi isolates into two distinct clades

Vegetation and the importance of insecticide-treated target siting for control of Glossina fuscipes fuscipes

Control of tsetse flies using insecticide-treated targets is often hampered by vegetation re-growth and encroachment which obscures a target and renders it less effective. Potentially this is of particular concern for the newly developed small targets (0.25 high × 0.5 m wide) which show promise for cost-efficient control of Palpalis group tsetse flies. Consequently the performance of a small target was investigated for Glossina fuscipes fuscipes in Kenya, when the target was obscured following the placement of vegetation to simulate various degrees of natural bush encroachment. Catches decreased significantly only when the target was obscured by more than 80%. Even if a small target is underneath a very low overhanging bush (0.5 m above ground), the numbers of G. f. fuscipes decreased by only about 30% compared to a target in the open. We show that the efficiency of the small targets, even in small (1 m diameter) clearings, is largely uncompromised by vegetation re-growth because G. f. fuscipes readily enter between and under vegetation. The essential characteristic is that there should be some openings between vegetation. This implies that for this important vector of HAT, and possibly other Palpalis group flies, a smaller initial clearance zone around targets can be made and longer interval between site maintenance visits is possible both of which will result in cost savings for large scale operations. We also investigated and discuss other site features e.g. large solid objects and position in relation to the water's edge in terms of the efficacy of the small targets

Info Note: Strengthening Food Systems Transformation in East and Southern Africa: Leveraging Science Driven Business Acceleration to Catalyse Private Sector Finance

• Agriculture in Africa has untapped potential to meet regional and global food demands, but it faces challenges like fragmentation, inefficient value chains, and climate shocks. Transforming food systems will come at a cost. • There is an opportunity to harness business acceleration as a catalyst for private sector financing food systems transformation, and a powerful scaling mechanism for climate-smart agriculture (CSA). • Science and research have a role to play in business acceleration to support the adoption and strengthening of CSA practices, benefiting both agribusiness performance and smallholder farmers. • Combining tailored CSA technical assistance with investment readiness in an integrated approach holds significant potential for driving regional food systems transformation because it ensures that agribusinesses not only have access to the necessary knowledge and expertise but are also well-prepared to secure the financial resources required for implementing sustainable and climate-smart solutions. • Selecting appropriate funding partners and mechanisms, acquiring investment knowledge, nurturing relationships with capital providers, and showcasing social and environmental impact are vital for successful financing in the agriculture sector