Kenya needs budget transparency to tackle poverty and inequalities

Transparency of government budgets is essential for holding those in political office accountable for public spending, such that positive outcomes are delivered for citizens’ well-being. While Kenya’s ranking for budget transparency shows signs of improvement, it must go further to present a fully open budget held to scrutiny in the public interest. To achieve this goal, James Muraguri outlines four recommendations

Teaching character education in primary grades using multicultural children\u27s story books

The purpose of this curriculum project is to offer K-3 regular education and 4-8 Special Education teachers ideas and activities for integrating character education into their regular curriculum. The whole group activities, games, art ideas, and more will help the teacher teach character education in a fun way and help students learn how to be caring and productive citizens

Private rights and Public goods: conflicts in agriculture R&D

Abstract not available

A decade of research involving men who have sex with men in Sub-Saharan Africa : current knowledge and future directions

It has been just over 10 years since the first large behavioral survey of men who have sex with men (MSM) was implemented in Senegal in 2001. Since then, behavioral and/or HIV prevalence surveys have been conducted in over 14 other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Current available evidence and review have established that HIV prevalence among MSM in these countries are significantly higher than corresponding general populations, that MSM engage in sexual risk behaviors that place them and sexual partners at higher risk, and that issues of discrimination and stigmatization inhibit HIV interventions for MSM. This paper summarizes the existing knowledge, describes limitations of this evidence, and proposes new and enhanced research approaches to fulfill needed gaps to inform national HIV responses for MSM populations

Exploring the flexibilities of TRIPS to promote biotechnology capacity building and appropriate technology transfer

Produced for the European Commission's 6th Framework Programme as part of the project 'Impacts of the IPR Rules on Sustainable Development (IPDEV)

Understanding development trajectories for biotechnology governance frameworks in sub-Saharan Africa: the policy kinetics model

Using case studies on development and implementation of biotechnology governance frameworks in four African countries, we introduce and build the case for a policy kinetics (PK) approach to analysing and unpacking complex policy processes. The PK approach proposes a comprehensive approach to understanding how various ‘pieces of the policy puzzle’ interact in arenas to facilitate or constrain attainment of desired outputs. Borrowing from reaction kinetics in chemistry, which is the study of rates of chemical processes, our argument is that complex policy processes can indeed be broken down into reactants, processes, catalysts and outputs, all interacting at various levels in space and time. We also bring attention to the presence of various intermediate outputs of processes with the potential to facilitate or constrain the process, including bringing a shift to the direction, duration and pace of the overall process. The presence or potential emergence of components that mimic process catalysts is another area that this approach brings to the attention of policy actors. By engaging with what happens at the level where the various components of a policy process interface with each other, we argue that this model is a useful tool for unpacking, understanding and influencing not only the development and implementation of biotechnology governance mechanisms in Africa, but other policy arenas elsewhere

The role of intellectual property in agricultural public-private partnerships in the context of development

PhDFood insecurity is an important global problem severely affecting developing countries, particularly those in Asia and Africa. Agricultural research in developing countries is characterised by the following tension: the private sector has plenty of applied research skills and experience but these are primarily used for commercial gain; the public sector has excellent research but the research is often not applied. Agricultural public private partnerships are currently acclaimed as a means of redressing this tension through optimising the complementary synergies between the two sectors in order to address food security. Private sector involvement in agriculture, including public private partnerships (PPPs) has increased in the past two decades as has the use of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in agriculture research. The two sectors have differing and sometimes conflicting perspectives on IP as a concept and in the strategies used to manage intellectual property. IPRs have the potential to enhance or hinder the achievement of a partnership’s objectives. This thesis investigates whether, to what extent and in what ways IP is relevant to food security oriented PPPs. It uses two case studies in India and Kenya involving two centres in the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR) to locate the role that IP plays in the formation and execution of food security oriented PPPs in the context of development. It argues for a bespoke analysis of PPPs as the preferred means through which the impact and effect of factors such as IPRs can be meaningfully examined. It finds that the relevance of IP to food security oriented PPPs in developing countries is determined by two factors: the nature of the technology used in the partnership and the stage of the partnership

Review of the Policy, Regulatory Mechanisms and Administration of Biosafety in Eastern and Southern Africa: A study of Kenya, South Africa, Malawi and the ASARECA initiative

This report summarises the results of a review of the policy, regulatory mechanisms and administration of biosafety in Kenya, Malawi and South Africa and under the ASARECA regional initiative. The report focuses on the current situation and provides insights as to the form that developments in the area of regulation of biotechnology are likely to take. The first section is an introduction, which provides the definition and scope of biotechnology as used in this report. It provides a brief status of agricultural research; the areas of research and the actors involved in biotechnology in the study countries. With the exception of South Africa, experimentation in transgenic crops is still under development. Most of the current agricultural biotechnology R&D activities focus on improving crop productivity. The actors are mainly National Agriculture Research Institutes, International Agricultural Research Centres and universities. Private sector involvement is in the form of multinational companies. The second section discusses the frameworks for the regulation of biotechnology. These include international obligations, regional attempts, as well as national efforts in regulating biotechnology in the study countries. Regulation at the national level has been in the form of national policies, national strategies and through legislation. In Kenya and in most countries under the ASARECA initiative, acts of parliament are yet to be enacted. The proposed bill and regulations in Kenya and the proposed regional regulatory structure under ASARECA are discussed with the aim of providing an insight as to the trend regulation in these jurisdictions is likely to take. The third section is a discussion on institutional arrangements in the field of agricultural biotechnology. Who are the institutional actors? What are the synergies? What is the institutional capacity in terms of human resources and physical infrastructure? This section also explores the commercialisation and innovation attempts in the study countries. It examines public perception and acceptance of modern biotechnology and ends with a brief mention on intellectual property protection in the study countries. South Africa has a developed institutional structure with impressive facilities and adequate human resource capacity. Critical mass in modern biotechnology in the other study countries is yet to be attained. Facilities for experimentation in GM technology are likewise lacking in Kenya, Malawi and other ASARECA countries. The fourth section summarises the review and presents the way forward. South Africa is best placed to handle applications for testing transgenics such as the rosette-resistant groundnut developed by ICRISAT. A representative from the Malawi biosafety committee should be involved in the testing of the groundnuts in RSA as part of a capacity building exercise and also to pave the way for the testing of the groundnuts in Malawi. In Kenya, there are indications that once an event is approved elsewhere, it is likely to receive timely approval subject to any additional testing that the National Biosafety Board may deem necessary. ICRISAT would have to collaborate with the KARI Institutional Biosafety Committee through which the application to the National Biosafety Committee would be made

Below the Radar: What does Innovation in Emerging Economies have to offer other Low Income Economies?

Between 1970 and 2000 the proportion of global R&D occurring in low income economies rose from two percent to more than 20 percent. However, this rising commitment to R&D does not easily translate into the emergence of a family of innovations meeting the needs of low income consumers "at the bottom of the pyramid", since much of these technological resources are invested in outdated structures of innovation. A number of transnational corporations are targeting these markets but it is our contention that much of the previously dominant innovation value chains are either ignorant of the needs of consumers at the bottom of the pyramid, or lack the technologies and organisational structures to meet these needs effectively. Instead, the firms and value chains that are likely to be most successful in these dynamic new markets are those that are emerging in China and India and other developing countries, disrupting global corporate and locational hierarchies of innovation.Science and Technology, Asian drivers, Innovation Systems, Millennium Development Goals

Differences in HIV, STI and other risk factors among younger and older male sex workers who have sex with men in Nairobi, Kenya

Introduction: Previous surveys of male sex workers (MSW) in sub-Saharan Africa have not fully documented the HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) rates and vulnerabilities by age category. Methods: The bio-behavioral survey of MSW in Nairobi, Kenya, utilized respondent-driven sampling to recruit MSW. Structured interviews captured MSW\u27s behavioral aspects, and biological tests for HIV and other STIs. Results: Analysis of the two age categories, 18–24 years (younger MSW) and 25 years and above (older MSW), shows that of all participants, a significantly higher proportion of younger MSW (59.6% crude, 69.6% RDS-adjusted) were recruited compared to older MSW (40.4% crude, 30.4% RDS-adjusted, P \u3c 0.001). Young male sex workers were more likely to report multiple sexual partnerships in the last 12 months and had multiple receptive anal intercourses (RAI) acts in the last 30 days than older MSW: 0–2 RAI acts (20.6 vs. 8.6%, P = 0.0300), 3–5 RAI acts (26.3 vs. 11.5, P \u3c 0.001), and \u3e5 RAI acts (26.3 vs. 11.5%, P \u3c 0.01). Furthermore, younger MSW were significantly more likely to have 3–5 insertive anal intercourse (IAI) with a regular male sex partner in the last 30 days than older MSW (24.3 vs. 8.0%, P \u3c 0.01). Younger MSW were also more likely to report other STIs [28.5% (95% CI: 19.1–40.4%)] than older MSW [19.0% (95% CI: 7.7–29.2%)]. However, older MSWs were more likely to be infected with HIV than younger MSW (32.3 vs. 9.9 %, P \u3c 0.01). Conclusions: Owing to the high risk sexual behaviors, HIV and STIs risks among younger and older MSW, intensified and targeted efforts are needed on risk reduction campaigns and expanded access to services