Local Knowledge on the Changes in Vegetation Composition and Abundance in Rusinga Island, Homa Bay County, Kenya

Local communities have been coping with environmental dynamics since time immemorial, and they often possess considerable knowledge about environmental change, as well as mechanisms of coping with the consequences of such changes. Local knowledge on the changes in vegetation composition and abundance is therefore fundamental for the development of management strategies aimed at sustainable use and conservation of natural vegetation resources. Household interviews (n=150), Key informant interviews (n=30) and Focus group discussions (n=4) were used in this study to extract information on the communities’ perceptions on the status of vegetation in Rusinga Island of Homa Bay County of Kenya, and the suggested management strategies for the environment, particularly the vegetation resources for posterity. Rusinga Island is a biodiversity hotspot and an ancient historic area with numerous archeological sites that have given the World fossils dating back millions of years but the area has been experiencing downward trend in its ecosystems. Majority (86%) of the respondents reported having observed changes in vegetation composition and abundance in the study area. The changes were attributed to deforestation, high human population, overgrazing, inadequate rainfall, and soil erosion. Most (68%) of the respondents perceived the changes had occurred mainly in the forests/hills, in the entire Island (15.3%) and in the homesteads (2.7 %). To reverse the changes, the local community proposed tree planting, protection of existing trees, use of alternative sources of fuel, increased awareness creation on environmental conservation and controlled livestock grazing as the best strategies to reduce vegetation degradation. Besides sensitization and building capacity of the communities to engage in sustainable management of vegetation resources, land restoration interventions in the study area should target the plants species at risk through re-introduction and re-afforestation practices

Woody Plant Species Composition and Diversity in Rusinga Island, Homa Bay County, Kenya

Information on the state of woody vegetation of Rusinga Island is urgently needed in order to develop appropriate and effective conservation guidelines. Rusinga Island is an ancient historic area with numerous archeological sites and a bountiful of birdlife. However, the Island is characterized by highly degraded ecosystems from human disturbances such as cutting down of trees for fuel, construction poles, and overgrazing resulting in a remarkable degradation of flora, alteration of the ecosystems and loss of biodiversity. This study sought to determine the composition and diversity of woody plant species in Rusinga Island to understand the current status in order to develop appropriate and effective conservation measures since no such study has been conducted in the area before. Three hills (Ligongo, Agiro and Wanyama) were selected for sampling and demarcated into three study zones differentiated by the slope gradient and land use. A systematic random sampling approach was adopted to establish 98 sampling plots measuring 20 m x20 m (400m2) for recording tree species and subplots of 10 m by 10 m within the main plots for recording shrubs and lianas across the three study zones at an interval of 200m. A total of 63 woody plant species belonging to 32 families and 51 genera were recorded, out of which 66.7% were trees, 31.7% shrubs and 1.6% lianas. The upper zones had significantly higher species diversity, species richness, evenness and abundance compared to the middle and lower zones. The lower zones depicted a lower abundance of plants and least similarities of species compared to the middle and upper zones. Development of appropriate conservation and management strategies is required in order to protect the woody plant resources from unsustainable human activities and to improve the natural diversity of the Island

Antimicrobial resistance and plasmid profiles of Aeromonas hydrophila isolated from River Njoro, Kenya

The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of Aeromonas hydrophila at commonly used water collection points on the River Njoro and to determine the in-vitro antimicrobial susceptibility and plasmid profiles of isolates. In total, 126 samples were collected and 36.5% of them were positive for A. hydrophila. The A. hydrophila were recovered on membrane filters, cultured on Trypticase Soy agar, Bile aesculin agar and Aeromonas Medium agar. They were further characterized using cytochrome oxidase and API 20E tests. Detection of drug susceptibility was determined using modified disc diffusion method to ampicillin (25 ìg), cefaclor (30 ìg), ceftizoxime (30 ìg), cefixime (5 ìg), cefazidime (30 ìg), gentamicin (200 ìg), streptomycin (25 ìg), chloramphenicol (50 ìg), nalidixic acid (30 ìg) and ciprofloxacin (1 ìg). Most of the isolates showed multi-drug resistance to two or more antibiotics. Chloramphenicol, nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, cefazidime and cefixime were the most sensitive drugs with 100% efficacy whereas ampicillin, cefaclor and streptomycin were the most resistant drugs having 100, 67 and 50 resistance, respectively. There was low resistance against ceftizoxime (16.7%) and gentamicin (23.3%). These results indicates that all A. hydrophila isolated from River Njoro had complete resistance to ampicillin and showed variable resistance to cefaclor, streptomycin, gentamycin and ceftizoxime. R-plasmids were extracted from multi-drug resistance strains and separated by agarose gel (0.8%) electrophoresis for profiling. Plasmid profiling revealed that most of the multi-drug resistant isolates contained one plasmid of 21.0 kb. Although some strains exhibited different antimicrobial resistance patterns, all of their plasmids were of the same size (21.0 kb). However, there were no plasmids in the antimicrobial sensitive isolates. This study also indicates that plasmid 21.0 kb is common in A. hydrophila and is important for antimicrobial resistance and virulence. Further studies are required to ascertain the role of this plasmid as a virulence marker.Key words: Aeromonas hydrophila, antimicrobial resistance, plasmid profile

The COVID-19 pandemic and disruptions to essential health services in Kenya:A retrospective time-series analysis

Background: Public health emergencies can disrupt the provision of and access to essential health-care services, exacerbating health crises. We aimed to assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on essential health-care services in Kenya. Methods: Using county-level data routinely collected from the health information system from health facilities across the country, we used a robust mixed-effect model to examine changes in 17 indicators of essential health services across four periods: the pre-pandemic period (from January, 2018 to February, 2020), two pandemic periods (from March to November 2020, and February to October, 2021), and the period during the COVID-19-associated health-care workers' strike (from December, 2020 to January, 2021). Findings: In the pre-pandemic period, we observed a positive trend for multiple indicators. The onset of the pandemic was associated with statistically significant decreases in multiple indicators, including outpatient visits (28·7%; 95% CI 16·0-43·5%), cervical cancer screening (49·8%; 20·6-57·9%), number of HIV tests conducted (45·3%; 23·9-63·0%), patients tested for malaria (31·9%; 16·7-46·7%), number of notified tuberculosis cases (26·6%; 14·7-45·1%), hypertension cases (10·4%; 6·0-39·4%), vitamin A supplements (8·7%; 7·9-10·5%), and three doses of the diphtheria, tetanus toxoid, and pertussis vaccine administered (0·9%; 0·5-1·3%). Pneumonia cases reduced by 50·6% (31·3-67·3%), diarrhoea by 39·7% (24·8-62·7%), and children attending welfare clinics by 39·6% (23·5-47·1%). Cases of sexual violence increased by 8·0% (4·3-25·0%). Skilled deliveries, antenatal care, people with HIV infection newly started on antiretroviral therapy, confirmed cases of malaria, and diabetes cases detected were not significantly affected negatively. Although most of the health indicators began to recover during the pandemic, the health-care workers' strike resulted in nearly all indicators falling to numbers lower than those observed at the onset or during the pre-strike pandemic period. Interpretation: The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated health-care workers' strike in Kenya have been associated with a substantial disruption of essential health services, with the use of outpatient visits, screening and diagnostic services, and child immunisation adversely affected. Efforts to maintain the provision of these essential health services during a health-care crisis should target the susceptible services to prevent the exacerbation of associated disease burdens during such health crises. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

GC13I-0857: Designing a Frost Forecasting Service for Small Scale Tea Farmers in East Africa

Kenya is the third largest tea exporter in the world, producing 10% of the world's black tea. Sixty percent of this production occurs largely by small scale tea holders, with an average farm size of 1.04 acres, and an annual net income of $1,075. According to a recent evaluation, a typical frost event in the tea growing region causes about$200 dollars in losses which can be catastrophic for a small holder farm. A 72-hour frost forecast would provide these small-scale tea farmers with enough notice to reduce losses by approximately 80 USD annually. With this knowledge, SERVIR, a joint NASA-USAID initiative that brings Earth observations for improved decision making in developing countries, sought to design a frost monitoring and forecasting service that would provide farmers with enough lead time to react to and protect against a forecasted frost occurrence on their farm. SERVIR Eastern and Southern Africa, through its implementing partner, the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), designed a service that included multiple stakeholder engagement events whereby stakeholders from the tea industry value chain were invited to share their experiences so that the exact needs and flow of information could be identified. This unique event allowed enabled the design of a service that fit the specifications of the stakeholders. The monitoring service component uses the MODIS Land Surface Temperature product to identify frost occurrences in near-real time. The prediction component, currently under testing, uses the 2-m air temperature, relative humidity, and 10-m wind speed from a series of high-resolution Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) numerical weather prediction model runs over eastern Kenya as inputs into a frost prediction algorithm. Accuracy and sensitivity of the algorithm is being assessed with observations collected from the farmers using a smart phone app developed specifically to report frost occurrences, and from data shared through our partner network developed at the stakeholder engagement meeting. This presentation will illustrate the efficacy of our frost forecasting algorithm, and a way forward for incorporating these forecasts in a meaningful way to the key decision makers - the small-scale farmers of East Africa

Effect of provision of an integrated neonatal survival kit and early cognitive stimulation package by community health workers on developmental outcomes of infants in Kwale County, Kenya: study protocol for a cluster randomized trial

Background: Each year, more than 200 million children under the age of 5 years, almost all in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), fail to achieve their developmental potential. Risk factors for compromised development often coexist and include inadequate cognitive stimulation, poverty, nutritional deficiencies, infection and complications of being born low birthweight and/or premature. Moreover, many of these risk factors are closely associated with newborn morbidity and mortality. As compromised development has significant implications on human capital, inexpensive and scalable interventions are urgently needed to promote neurodevelopment and reduce risk factors for impaired development. Method/Design: This cluster randomized trial aims at evaluating the impact of volunteer community health workers delivering either an integrated neonatal survival kit, an early stimulation package, or a combination of both interventions, to pregnant women during their third trimester of pregnancy, compared to the current standard of care in Kwale County, Kenya. The neonatal survival kit comprises a clean delivery kit (sterile blade, cord clamp, clean plastic sheet, surgical gloves and hand soap), sunflower oil emollient, chlorhexidine, ThermoSpotTM, Mylar infant sleeve, and a reusable instant heater. Community health workers are also equipped with a portable hand-held electric scale. The early cognitive stimulation package focuses on enhancing caregiver practices by teaching caregivers three key messages that comprise combining a gentle touch with making eye contact and talking to children, responsive feeding and caregiving, and singing. The primary outcome measure is child development at 12 months of age assessed with the Protocol for Child Monitoring (Infant and Toddler version). The main secondary outcome is newborn mortality. Discussion: This study will provide evidence on effectiveness of delivering an innovative neonatal survival kit and/or early stimulation package to pregnant women in Kwale County, Kenya. Study findings will help inform policy on the most appropriate interventions for promoting healthy brain development and reduction of newborn morbidity and mortality in Kenya and other similar settings. Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.gov NCT02208960 (August 1, 2014

Antimicrobial resistance and plasmid profiles of Aeromonas hydrophila isolated from River Njoro, Kenya

The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of Aeromonas hydrophila at commonly used water collection points on the River Njoro and to determine the in-vitro antimicrobial susceptibility and plasmid profiles of isolates. In total, 126 samples were collected and 36.5% of them were positive for A. hydrophila. The A. hydrophila were recovered on membrane filters, cultured on Trypticase Soy agar, Bile aesculin agar and Aeromonas Medium agar. They were further characterized using cytochrome oxidase and API 20E tests. Detection of drug susceptibility was determined using modified disc diffusion method to ampicillin (25 μg), cefaclor (30 μg), ceftizoxime (30 μg), cefixime (5 μg), cefazidime (30 μg), gentamicin (200 μg), streptomycin (25 μg), chloramphenicol (50 μg), nalidixic acid (30 μg) and ciprofloxacin (1 μg). Most of the isolates showed multi-drug resistance to two or more antibiotics. Chloramphenicol, nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, cefazidime and cefixime were the most sensitive drugs with 100% efficacy whereas ampicillin, cefaclor and streptomycin were the most resistant drugs having 100, 67 and 50 resistance, respectively. There was low resistance against ceftizoxime (16.7%) and gentamicin (23.3%). These results indicates that all A. hydrophila isolated from River Njoro had complete resistance to ampicillin and showed variable resistance to cefaclor, streptomycin, gentamycin and ceftizoxime. R-plasmids were extracted from multi-drug resistance strains and separated by agarose gel (0.8%) electrophoresis for profiling. Plasmid profiling revealed that most of the multi-drug resistant isolates contained one plasmid of 21.0 kb. Although some strains exhibited different antimicrobial resistance patterns, all of their plasmids were of the same size (21.0 kb). However, there were no plasmids in the antimicrobial sensitive isolates. This study also indicates that plasmid 21.0 kb is common in A. hydrophila and is important for antimicrobial resistance and virulence. Further studies are required to ascertain the role of this plasmid as a virulence marker

FR2.2: Gender assessement of Potato Traits: A G+ Product Profiling application

In Sub-Saharan Africa, low adoption of improved varieties has been linked to breeding programs failing to consider end-user trait preferences and the interplay with gender. Recently, efforts have commenced assessing the gender responsiveness of product profile proposals during variety development, testing, and dissemination. The study uses a multi-stage approach to examine the gender responsiveness of Kenya's target table potato product profile. First, the G+ product profile tool was employed to examine the likelihood of the selected traits exacerbating gender disparity along four domains: unpaid labour, access to farm and external resources and control over benefits based on a literature review. Then key informant interviews and a multi-stakeholder workshop followed to build consensus on the gendered assessment. Findings show that tuber yield is associated with increased demand for women's unpaid labour during harvesting and sorting and greater requirement for inputs to which women have limited access. Respondents in the multi-stakeholder workshop highlighted the potential of dry matter to increase women's unpaid labour due to increased preparation time. Moreover, the trait may increase marketability, thus attracting men and displacing female processors from income-generating nodes. We thus recommend that gender-responsive techniques designed by a multidisciplinary team and complementary technologies should accompany the dissemination and promotion of the resultant variety. This would minimise gender inequalities and spur equal benefits for men and women

Bridging knowledge gaps in fish health management through education, research, and biosecurity

Education, research, and biosecurity have global recognition as strong pillars of sustainable aquaculture development. In many developing countries, insufficient knowledge and awareness among stakeholders regarding the relevance of education, research, and biosecurity have influenced aquaculture sustainability negatively. To uncover the gaps in education, research, and biosecurity practices in aquatic animal health management, we conducted a questionnaire-based study in various East and West African countries. By adopting the methodology of self-reporting data, we invited a significant number of individuals to participate in the study. In the end, 88 respondents contributed, with the majority from Ghana (47) and Kenya (20), and 21 respondents from five other East and West African nations. The results revealed substantial educational gaps, including the need for practical training in aquatic animal health management, nutrition, and genetics. Respondents also emphasized the importance of creating additional national aquaculture research institutions and augmented funding to enable them to address industry needs. Governments of the represented nations should actively intervene by providing the essential logistics and capacity to support aquaculture research and development. Informed government involvement is paramount for bridging the disconnection among all stakeholders, as revealed in the results. Furthermore, the lack of biosecurity measures and the understanding of the importance of biosecurity measures in the industry addressed through awareness creation. Creating awareness on biosecurity underpinned with national aquaculture biosecurity policies can prevent disease incidences in the industry. The outcomes of this study can serve as a vital working document to enhance aquatic animal health management in East and West Africa, thereby fostering sustainable and resilient aquaculture