Restoring community livelihoods and food security through livestock asset during drought disasters: case study of Mwingi, Kenya

Some of the world’s poor and most disaster-vulnerable communities are also those most reliant on livestock. Whenever disasters strike, in addition to the immediate devastation, food insecurity and loss of life, the loss of livestock can leave a secondary legacy of economic instability, debt and dependency. In 2011, a collaborative approach to mitigate both immediate and long-term effects of the devastating drought affecting Kenya’s livestock and people was conducted in Mwingi. In that year, East Africa had suffered the worst drought in 60 years following three years of poor or failed rains. More than 11 million people faced starvation in the region and in Kenya alone, 3.5 million people were affected by the crisis, which was declared a national disaster. For the people of Mwingi in Kenya, the keeping of livestock – including cattle, goats, sheep and camels – is the primary source of livelihoods and forms the basis of the regional economy. As the drought continued, daily life of Mwingi people became a struggle for survival for both people and their animals. Of their estimated animals thought to have been affected, in some areas, up to 45 per cent of the animal population died. A strategy to mitigate the effects of the drought was designed through participatory drought analysis and needs assessment. Subsequently, a drought response team was deployed in the region targeting to secure and restore valued asset of the people of Mwingi - the livestock. Management of livestock during that crisis helped to safeguard livelihoods and food security of the affected region. By the end of the disaster management there were perceived benefits in terms of improved body condition of the animals, avoided animal mortalities and indirect benefits derived from surviving livestock. With resumption of rains, farmers were able to continue depending upon their secured animals assets for livelihood. The cost-benefit analysis indicated the intervention generated $2.74 of benefits in the form of avoided losses for every$1 spent. If the time period was extended to 3 years, the benefit-cost ratio increases to $6.69 in benefits for every$1 spent. This case demonstrates that interventions on drought crisis focusing on actions aimed at animal welfare could help maintain and restore the livestock as a livelihoods asset of the regions’ farmers and help to enhance their food security. Key words: Drought, Livestock, Livelihoods, Food Securit

A Retrospective Study of Reproductive Conditions in Bitches in Nairobi

A twenty year retrospective study was carried out in the Small Animal Clinic, University of Nairobi, Kenya and in a private Small Animal Clinic in Nairobi between the years 1988 to 2008. A total of 6548 bitches had been presented with reproductive problems. The cases were categorically grouped according to the type of infertility diagnosed. Non-infectious infertilities were sixty nine percent and infectious types were thirty one percent. Only two percent of the latter were confirmed in one clinic. 23.20 % of non-infectious infertility were managerial, 29.1% anatomical and 7.80% physiological types while 39.80 % were unclassified miscellaneous cases. The cases classified under infectious infertility consisted of; vaginitis/endometritis/metritis (36.3%), pyometra (25.3%), abortions (21.5%), vaginal discharges (11.7%) and miscarriages (5.1%). The incidence of infertilities was highly common in breeds of German shepherd (39%), Doberman (6%), Rottweiler (12%) and their crosses (43%). The percentage of the reproductive cases presented in both clinics had no statistical difference at (

Estrogens and male reproduction: a new concept

The mammalian testis serves two main functions: production of spermatozoa and synthesis of steroids; among them estrogens are the end products obtained from the irreversible transformation of androgens by a microsomal enzymatic complex named aromatase. The aromatase is encoded by a single gene (cyp19) in humans which contains 18 exons, 9 of them being translated. In rats, the aromatase activity is mainly located in Sertoli cells of immature rats and then in Leydig cells of adult rats. We have demonstrated that germ cells represent an important source of estrogens: the amount of P450arom transcript is 3-fold higher in pachytene spermatocytes compared to gonocytes or round spermatids; conversely, aromatase activity is more intense in haploid cells. Male germ cells of mice, bank voles, bears, and monkeys express aromatase. In humans, we have shown the presence of a biologically active aromatase and of estrogen receptors (alpha and ß) in ejaculated spermatozoa and in immature germ cells in addition to Leydig cells. Moreover, we have demonstrated that the amount of P450arom transcripts is 30% lower in immotile than in motile spermatozoa. Alterations of spermatogenesis in terms of number and motility of spermatozoa have been described in men genetically deficient in aromatase. These last observations, together with our data showing a significant decrease of aromatase in immotile spermatozoa, suggest that aromatase could be involved in the acquisition of sperm motility. Thus, taking into account the widespread localization of aromatase and estrogen receptors in testicular cells, it is obvious that, besides gonadotrophins and androgens, estrogens produced locally should be considered to be physiologically relevant hormones involved in the regulation of spermatogenesis and spermiogenesis