The Effectiveness of Multi-Agency Operation Leadership in Mitigating Insecurity in Lamu County, Kenya

There has been much discussion among various stakeholders on the benefits of multi-agency operations in response to security threats. This discussion is constrained, though, in that it downplays the complexity of multi-agency operations. Despite this, several nations, like Kenya, have used a multi-agency approach to deal with challenges related to national security; nevertheless, there is insufficient empirical evidence about the usefulness of this method in reducing insecurity issues. This study aimed to ascertain how well multi-agency operations leadership mitigated insecurity in Lamu County, Kenya. The collaborative advantage theory served as the basis for the investigation. This study used an ex post facto survey research design methodology. The study was carried out in Lamu County with a particular interest in the county's security personnel: an interview schedule and a questionnaire with structured and open-ended questions served as the data-gathering tools. The essential characteristics of the quantitative data gathered were displayed using descriptive statistics, including frequencies and percentages. Thematic analysis was used to create themes by grouping and open coding. The study discovered that multi-agency collaboration leadership successfully reduced insecurity in Lamu County. The study marked these out to address cases of inter-agency rivalry disputes, agency inferiority and superiority complexes, and the necessity to build a shared working policy on the ranking structure for the concerned agencies. The ongoing multi-agency operation has made Lamu County, in general, safer and more stable. Researchers interested in the leadership efficacy of multi-agency procedures are expected to benefit from the findings of this study, as will policymakers in the security sector

TEACHERS’ GENDER INFLUENCING BOY-CHILD EDUCATIONAL ASPIRATIONS: A STUDY OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA

Educational aspiration is one of the crucial determinants of a person’s success in life. It is influenced by a number of factors. The present study was an attempt to explore the influence of teachers’ gender on boy-child educational aspirations in secondary school in Nakuru County, Kenya. The question of educational aspirations among Kenyan boys has become the subject of concern. It is against this background that the need for this study was envisaged. The researcher employed a causal comparative (ex-post facto) design in the study. The study involved a sample of 420 Form three boys in secondary schools. Research instruments used in collecting data were questionnaire and interview schedule. A pilot study was carried out to ensure reliability of the instrument. Internal consistency was determined through the use of Cronchbach’s alpha formula and a coefficient of 0.867 was obtained. Expert judgment was employed to establish the validity of the research instrument. The finding from this study revealed that teachers’ gender significantly influenced boys’ educational aspirations. It is anticipated that the study will aid to develop greater insights into the above factor influencing the boy-child educational aspirations in public secondary schools for the purpose of improving the quality of education in Kenya. Knowledge of such factors would be useful to government, parents and teachers since it may guide in formulating strategies that may improve boys’ educational aspirations.  Article visualizations

The Safe Start trial to assess the effect of an infant hygiene intervention on enteric infections and diarrhoea in low-income informal neighbourhoods of Kisumu, Kenya: a study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Symptomatic and asymptomatic enteric infections in early childhood are associated with negative effects on childhood growth and development, especially in low and middle-income countries, and food may be an important transmission route. Although basic food hygiene practices might reduce exposure to faecal pathogens and resulting infections, there have been few rigorous interventions studies to assess this, and no studies in low income urban settings where risks are plausibly very high. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of a novel infant food hygiene intervention on infant enteric infections and diarrhoea in peri-urban settlements of Kisumu, Kenya. METHODS: This is a cluster randomized control trial with 50 clusters, representing the catchment areas of Community Health Volunteers (CHVs), randomly assigned to intervention or control, and a total of 750 infants recruited on a rolling basis at 22 weeks of age and then followed for 15 weeks. The intervention targeted four key caregiver behaviours related to food hygiene: 1) hand washing with soap before infant food preparation and feeding; 2) bringing all infant food to the boil before feeding, including when reheating or reserving; 3) storing all infant food in sealed containers; and, 4) using only specific utensils for infant feeding which are kept separate and clean. RESULTS: The primary outcome of interest is the prevalence of one or more of 23 pre-specified enteric infections, determined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction for enteric pathogen gene targets. In addition, infant food samples were collected at 33 weeks, and faecal indicator bacteria (Enterococcus) isolated and enumerated to assess the impact of the intervention on infant food contamination. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge this is the first randomized controlled trial to assess the effect of an infant food hygiene intervention on enteric infections in a high burden, low income urban setting. Our trial responds to growing evidence that food may be a key pathway for early childhood enteric infection and disease and that basic food hygiene behaviours may be able to mitigate these risks. The Safe Start trial seeks to provide new evidence as to whether a locally appropriate infant food hygiene intervention delivered through the local health extension system can improve the health of young children. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered at clinicaltrial.gov on March 16th 2018 before enrolment of any participants (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03468114)

Good food hygiene practices in urban informal settlements of Kisumu, Kenya

Good food hygiene practices reduce faecal contamination in child food, but do not reduce enteric infections and child diarrhoea. Children in urban settlements are more susceptible to diarrhoea because of poor sanitation and overcrowding. The purpose of this study was to delineate food handling practices in urban settlements, to inform an intervention aimed at reducing enteric infections. Data was collected using observation and in-depth interviews. Twenty one out of 31 caregivers who participated in the study were biological mothers, the remaining were relatives or nonrelatives. Over half the infants had several alternative caregivers providing care in or outside the home. Food preparation and feeding was done by the caregiver providing care when the child was hungry. These findings imply that child care in the informal settlements is done by multiple caregivers, suggesting that food hygiene interventions should give attention to all likely child caregivers to reduce diarrheal disease

A Mixed Methods Process Evaluation of a Food Hygiene Intervention in Low-Income Informal Neighbourhoods of Kisumu, Kenya.

OBJECTIVES: Diarrhoea is a leading cause of infant mortality with the main transmission pathways being unsafe water and contaminated food, surfaces and hands. The 'Safe Start' trial evaluated a food hygiene intervention implemented in a peri-urban settlement of Kisumu, Kenya, with the aim of reducing diarrhoeagenic enteric infections among infants. Four food hygiene behaviours were targeted: handwashing with soap before preparation and feeding, boiling infant food before feeding, storing infant food in sealed containers, and exclusive use of designated utensils during feeding. METHODS: A process evaluation of the intervention was guided by a theory of change describing the hypothesised implementation and receipt of the intervention, mechanisms of change, and the context. These were assessed by qualitative and quantitative data that included debriefing sessions with the delivery teams and Community Health Volunteers (CHVs), and structured observations during food preparation. RESULTS: The intervention achieved high coverage and fidelity with over 90% of 814 eligible caregivers participating in the intervention. Caregivers in the intervention arm demonstrated an understanding of the intervention messages, and had 1.38 (95% CI: 1.02-1.87) times the odds of washing hands before food preparation and 3.5 (95% CI: 1.91-6.56) times the odds of using a feeding utensil compared to caregivers in the control group. Contextual factors, especially the movement of caregivers within and outside the study area and time constraints faced by caregivers influenced uptake of some intervention behaviours. CONCLUSION: Future interventions should seek to explicitly target contextual factors such as secondary caregivers and promote food hygiene interventions as independent of each other

Crustal structure of active deformation zones in Africa: Implications for global crustal processes

The Cenozoic East African rift (EAR), Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL), and Atlas Mountains formed on the slow-moving African continent, which last experienced orogeny during the Pan-African. We synthesize primarily geophysical data to evaluate the role of magmatism in shaping Africa's crust. In young magmatic rift zones, melt and volatiles migrate from the asthenosphere to gas-rich magma reservoirs at the Moho, altering crustal composition and reducing strength. Within the southernmost Eastern rift, the crust comprises ~20% new magmatic material ponded in the lower crust sills, and intruded as sills and dikes at shallower depths. In the Main Ethiopian rift, intrusions comprise 30% of the crust below axial zones of dike-dominated extension. In the incipient rupture zones of the Afar rift, magma intrusions fed from crustal magma chambers beneath segment centers create new columns of mafic crust, as along slow-spreading ridges. Our comparisons suggest that transitional crust, including seaward-dipping sequences, is created as progressively smaller screens of continental crust are heated and weakened by magma intrusion into 15-20 km-thick crust. In the 30Ma-Recent CVL, which lacks a hotspot age-progression, extensional forces are small, inhibiting the creation and rise of magma into the crust. In the Atlas orogen, localized magmatism follows the strike of the Atlas Mountains from the Canary Islands hotspot towards the Alboran Sea. CVL and Atlas magmatism has had minimal impact on crustal structure. Our syntheses show that magma and volatiles are migrating from the asthenosphere through the plates, modifying rheology and contributing significantly to global carbon and water fluxes