Factors determining community participation in afforestation projects in River Nyando basin, Kenya

Factors determining community participation in afforestation projects were investigated. Data was collected from 150 respondents who were selected from a sample population of 1,928 households using systematic random sampling technique. Data was collected using a standardized questionnaire, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Chi-square (χ2) test was used to establish the relationship between community participation (dependent variable) and socio-cultural, economic and environmental factors (independent variables) and also to test the strength of the relationship. The results of the study indicated that there was a strong positive relationship between community participation and the benefits obtained from the afforestation projects (χ2 α 0.05 = 0.000). There was also a positive relationship between environmental degradation and community participation in the afforestation projects (χ2 α 0.05 = 0.001). However, there was no relationship between community participation and cultural factors (χ2 α 0.05 = 0.824). There was also no relationship between respondents’ household status and community participation in the afforestation projects (χ2 α 0.05 = 0.156). The study concluded that for conservation projects to succeed, socio-economic benefits must be tangible to the project participants/ beneficiaries.Key words: Community participation, afforestation projects, Nyando river basin, Kenya

Quality of Amoxycillin Preparations on the Kenyan Market

East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol.6(3) 2003: 57-6

Drug Quality Control in Kenya: Observation in Drug Analysis and Research Unit during the Period 1996-2000

The Drug Analysis and Research Unit received and analyzed 261 drug samples over a five-year period, 1996 to 2000. Samples were received from regulatory authorities, local industry, non-governmental organizations, hospitals and private practitioners. The samples analyzed constituted 59.8 % locally manufactured and 40.2 % imported products. The overall rate of failure to comply with quality specifications set out in the respective monographs was 21.1 %. This represents 24.6 % and 16.2 % of the locally manufactured and imported drugs, respectively. Key Words: Quality control, active pharmaceutical ingredient content, dissolution. East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol.5(2) 2002: 28-3

Quality of Antiretroviral Drugs Analyzed in the Drug Analysis and Research Unit During 2000-2003

During the period 2000-2003 the Drug Analysis and Research Unit received and analyzed 33 samples of antiretroviral drugs. Locally manufactured products accounted for 57.6 % of the samples, while the imported drugs constituted 42.4 %. The drugs consisted of single, double and triple component preparations. They were subjected to the identity, assay and dissolution tests. 30 samples (90.9 %) complied with compedial specifications for these tests, while 3 failed. The results obtained show that manufacture of quality generic antiretroviral drugs is achievable. Key Words: Antiretroviral, assay, dissolution, nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor East & Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol.6(1) 2003: 20-2

Drug Quality Control in Kenya: Observation in the Drug Analysis and Research Unit During the Period 2001-2005

During the five-year period January 2001 to December 2005, the Drug Analysis and Research Unit received and analyzed 394 drug samples. Samples were received from regulatory authorities, local industry, non-governmental organizations, hospitals and private practitioners. The samples analyzed constituted 37.8 % locally manufactured and 62.2 % imported products. In contrast to previous years when failure rates of over 20 % were recorded, the overall rate of failure to comply with compendial quality specifications was 6.1 %, comprising of 8.7 % locally manufactured and 4.5 % imported drugs

A synthesis of past, current and future research for protection and management of papyrus (Cyperus papyrus L.) wetlands in Africa

Papyrus wetlands (dominated by the giant sedge Cyperus papyrus L.) occur throughout eastern, central and southern Africa and are important for biodiversity, for water quality and quantity regulation and for the livelihoods of millions of people. To draw attention to the importance of papyrus wetlands, a special session entitled ‘‘The ecology of livelihoods in papyrus wetlands’’ was organized at the 9th INTECOL Wetlands Conference in Orlando, Florida in June 2012. Papers from the session, combined with additional contributions, were collected in a special issue of Wetlands Ecology and Management. The current paper reviews ecological and hydrological characteristics of papyrus wetlands, summarizes their ecosystem services and sustainable use, provides an overview of papyrus research to date, and looks at policy development for papyrus wetlands. Based on this review, the paper provides a synthesis of research and policy priorities for papyrus wetlands and introduces the contributions in the special issue. Main conclusions are that (1) there is a need for better estimates of the area covered by papyrus wetlands. Limited evidence suggests that the loss of papyrus wetlands is rapid in some areas; (2) there is a need for a better understanding and modelling of the regulating services of papyrus wetlands to support trade-off analysis and improve economic valuation; (3) research on papyrus wetlands should include assessment of all ecosystem services (provisioning, regulating, habitat, cultural) so that trade-offs can be determined as the basis for sustainable management strategies (‘wise use’); (4) more research on the governance, institutional and socio-economic aspects of papyrus wetlands is needed to assist African governments in dealing with the challenges of conserving wetlands in the face of growing food security needs and climate change. The papers in the special issue address a number of these issues