Determinants of Loan Default by Savings and Credit Co-Operative Societies’ Members in Baringo County, Kenya

Loan delinquency in SACCOs is a major threat in the sustainability of granting loan to the loan applicants and the growth of the business. Gradual increase in delinquency rate implies that SACCOs are unable to recover what they have lent out to loan beneficiaries. This affects the SACCOs' financial obligations. SACCOs' financial growth is a critical issue and failure to maintain cash in circulation affects their core business.  SACCOs in Baringo County has realized increasing loan default since the year 2010 which was ksh.76, 987,450 and rose gradually to ksh. 225,464,348 in the year 2013. Management in SACCOs impressed on proper loan appraisals, timely reminders on repayments by loan beneficiaries and escalating on timely follow-up on loan defaulters. Delinquency continuously increased despite the measures taken to mitigate the problem by SACCOs. The study sought to establish the social factors that affect loan repayment by the borrowers, to determine economic factors that affect loan repayment by the borrowers, and to establish terms of loan factors that affects both SACCOs and borrowers regarding loan repayment. The study covered the 39 SACCOs in Baringo County. The study employed descriptive survey design. A sample of 39 credit officers and 161 loan beneficiaries responded to the study. The primary data was collected using a questionnaire, and analyzed using both descriptive statistics and multiple regressions. The result of the study indicated that economic and terms of the loan factors significantly affect loan default however social factors does not significantly affect the loan default. The study recommends that a credit policy should be maintained that is in built in Sacco software. Also more training programs sponsored by Sacco’s aiming at enhancing the members on economic and social factors. Keywords: key words, determinant, loan default, and Sacco’

Evaluation of the performance of a multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction kit as a potential diagnostic and surveillance kit for rotavirus in Kenya

Abstract Background Diarrhea is a serious concern worldwide, especially in developing countries. Rotavirus is implicated in approximately 400,000 infant deaths annually. It is highly contagious elevating the risk of outbreaks especially in enclosed settings such as daycare centers, hospitals, and boarding schools. Reliable testing methods are critical for early detection of infections, better clinical management, pathogen surveillance and evaluation of interventions such as vaccines. Enzyme immunoassays have proved to be reliable and practical in most settings; however, newer multiplex reverse transcription polymerase assays have been introduced in the Kenya market but have not been evaluated locally. Methods Stool samples collected from an ongoing Surveillance of Enteric Pathogens Causing diarrheal illness in Kenya (EPS) study were used to compare an established enzyme immunoassay, Premier™ Rotaclone® (Meridian Bioscience, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.), that can only detect group A rotavirus against a novel multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction kit, Seeplex® Diarrhea-V ACE Detection (Seegene, Seoul, Republic of Korea), that can detect rotavirus, astrovirus, adenovirus, and norovirus genogroups I and II. Detection frequency, sensitivity, specificity, turnaround time, and cost were compared to determine the suitability of each assay for clinical work in austere settings versus public health work in well-funded institutes in Kenya. Results The Premier™ Rotaclone® kit had a detection frequency of 11.2%, sensitivity of 77.8%, specificity of 100%, turnaround time of 93 min and an average cost per sample of 13.33 United States dollars (USD). The Seeplex® Diarrhea-V ACE Detection kit had a detection frequency of 16.0%, sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 98.1%, turnaround time of 359 min and an average cost per samples 32.74 United States dollars respectively. The detection frequency sensitivity and specificity of the Seeplex® Diarrhea-V ACE Detection kit mentioned above are for rotavirus only. Conclusions The higher sensitivity and multiplex nature of the Seeplex® Diarrhea-V ACE Detection kit make it suitable for surveillance of enteric viruses circulating in Kenya. However, its higher cost, longer turnaround time and complexity favor well-resourced clinical labs and research applications. The Premier™ Rotaclone®, on the other hand, had a higher specificity, shorter turnaround time, and lower cost making it more attractive for clinical work in low complexity labs in austere regions of the country. It is important to continuously evaluate assay platforms’ performance, operational cost, turnaround time, and usability in different settings so as to ensure quality results that are useful to the patients and public health practitioners.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152177/1/40794_2019_Article_87.pd

Comprehensive transcriptome of the maize stalk borer, Busseola fusca, from multiple tissue types, developmental stages, and parasitoid wasp exposures

International audienc

Use of topical versus injectable anaesthesia for ShangRing circumcisions in men and boys in Kenya: Results from a randomized controlled trial

Background: The ShangRing is a disposable, collar clamp circumcision device pre-qualified for use in men and boys 13 years and above. It has been shown to be faster than conventional circumcision with comparable adverse event (AE) rates and high client satisfaction. Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) has been shown to dramatically reduce the risk of HIV acquisition in males. However, the fear of pain during circumcision is an important barrier to uptake. Use of topical anesthesia thus presents an opportunity to address this. Objectives: We sought to evaluate the safety, effectiveness and acceptability of the use of topical anaesthesia with ShangRing circumcision of men and boys 10 years of age and above. Methods: Participants were randomised 2:1 to receive topical or injectable anaesthesia. All participants underwent no-flip ShangRing circumcision. The primary outcome measure was pain. Secondary outcomes included ease of use of topical versus injectable anaesthesia, AEs and participant satisfaction. Results: Compared to the topical group, participants in the injectable group reported significantly more pain on administration of the anesthesia and at approximately 20 minutes after the procedure. In the topical group, sufficient anaesthesia with topical cream was not achieved in 21 (9.3%) cases before the start of the procedure; in another 6 (2.6%), supplementary injectable anaesthesia was required as the circumcision was being carried out. The AE rate was significantly lower (p \u3c 0.01) in the topical (0%) vs. the injectable group (4.2%). The most common AE was pain during the post-operative period. All AEs were managed conservatively and resolved without sequeale. 96.7% of participants were satisfied with the appearance of the healed penis and 100% would recommend the ShangRing to others. All seven male circumcision providers involved in the study preferred topical to injectable anaesthesia. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate the safety, improved clinical experience, effectiveness, and acceptability of the use of topical anaesthesia in ShangRing circumcision using the no-flip technique. Topical anaesthesia effectively eliminates needlestick pain from the clients’ VMMC experience and thus has the potential to increase demand for the service