Ethnic Mixing and Tolerance in Mathare Informal Settelment in Nairobi City, Kenya

In any multi-ethnic society, tolerance is regarded as an integral element for achieving social, economic, and political stability within the nation. Today, majority of the multi-ethnic nations in Africa struggle to promote ethno-cultural tolerance and acceptance among the diverse populations. Numerous African nations are embroiled in inter-state conflicts and civil wars stemming from ethnic differences, thereby presenting a dilemma regarding the promotion of ethnic pluralism. This paper focuses on examining whether ethnic mixing in the city can be a potential tool for promoting ethnic tolerance and peaceful co-existence. This can be further diffused to the rural regions and subsequently to the whole nation. The study adopted interpretive study design that utilized qualitative and quantitative methods in the collection and analysis of data. The initial survey involved interviews with 80 participants, while the in-depth interviews included 24 individuals. Participants were rural urban migrants who had lived in the city for more than five years and were at the time of study living in the Mathare informal settlement. Following the contact theory, the study found compelling evidence that exposure to different ethnic group promotes cultural learning and accommodation toward outgroups, resulting to individuals who are more open to diversity. The study proposes ethnic mixing and the creation of ethnic diverse spaces as an alternative strategy for promoting ethnic understanding and nationhood

Ethnic Mixing and Tolerance in Urban Kenya: A Case Study of Mathare Informal Settelment in Nairobi City

For any multi-ethnic society, tolerance is regarded as an integral element for social, economic, and political stability of the nation. Today, majority of the multi-ethnic nations in Africa still face the challenge on how to promote ethno-cultural tolerance and acceptance among the diverse populations. As a result, many African nations are entangled in inter-state conflicts and civil wars related to ethnic differences that pose a dilemma on whether to promote ethnic pluralism or not. In this study we examined whether ethnic mixing in the city can be a potential tool for promoting ethnic tolerance and peaceful co-existence, which can then be diffused to the rural regions and subsequently to the whole nation. The study adopted integrative study design that allowed use of mixed methods in the collection and analysis of data where eighty participants were interviewed in the initial survey and twenty-four in the in-depth interviews. Consistent with the contact theory the study found a compelling evidence that ethnic group exposure promotes cultural learning and out group accommodation, resulting to individuals who are more open to diversity. The study proposes ethnic mixing and the creation of ethnic diverse spaces as an alternative strategy for promoting ethnic understanding and nationhood. The paper is an excerpt from the author’s post-doctoral thesis on the role of rural-urban migrations in promoting ethnic integration in Kenya

Spatial-Temporal Characteristics of Past and Projected Climate Over Dairy Production Zones: A Case of Nandi County, Kenya

Climate change is regarded as a significant global environmental threat. This study assesses downscaled projections of climate change over dairy production regions (Nandi County) of Kenya using Rossby Centre Regional Atmospheric Model (RCA4) outputs driven by the eight (8) coordinated regional Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) models. Climate baseline period (1971-2000) was used to evaluate CORDEX model performance against different sources of precipitation and temperature observations. Graphical and statistical approaches which correlation; Mann-Kendall test and nonparametric Sen’s method were used to assess the trends in both past and future climate. Spatial analysis involved mapping of climate variables. Assessment of the skill of CORDEX models shows significant bias in the individual models in simulating precipitation. However, maximum and minimum temperatures performed well based on both individual and ensemble based outputs. CORDEX model outputs were comparable to observations, and either overestimated or underestimated the climate. Past and projected precipitation remains bimodal and highly variable (increasing/decreasing) in both space and time. Positive change between baseline and projected temperatures were noted for RCP45 and RCP85. As a response to the effects of climate variability and change, adoption of climate smart agricultural technologies is necessary to ensure that smallholder farmers put adequate measures to adapt and mitigate impact of climate change Keywords: Precipitation; temperature; climate; projections; CORDEX DOI: 10.7176/JEES/10-6-06 Publication date:June 30th 202

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices on child and adolescent mental health among healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review

Introduction: Child and adolescent mental health is a global priority. In sub-Saharan Africa, despite the high burden, there is a gap in health services for children and adolescents with mental health disorders. To bridge this gap, healthcare workers require a good understanding of child and adolescent mental health, the right attitude, and practices geared to improving child and adolescent mental health. This scoping review examined the knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to child and adolescent mental health among sub-Saharan African healthcare workers. Methods: The search was restricted between January 2010, the year when the Mental Health Gap Action Programme guidelines were launched, and April 2024. The review followed the methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley for conducting scoping reviews. The databases searched included CINHAL, PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and grey literature databases. Additional articles were identified through cited references of the studies included. A data extraction template was used to retrieve relevant text. A narrative synthesis approach was adopted to explore the relationships within and between the included studies. Results: The literature search yielded 4658 studies. Among these, 817 were identified as duplicates, and 3740 were excluded after screening. Only twenty-one articles met the criteria for inclusion in the review. The findings showed that healthcare workers have insufficient knowledge of child and adolescent mental health, hold negative attitudes toward children and adolescents with mental health problems, and exhibit poor practices related to child and adolescent mental health. Conclusion: It is crucial to build capacity and improve healthcare workers’ practices, knowledge, and attitudes toward child and adolescent mental health in sub-Saharan Africa. This could lead to better access to mental health services for children and adolescents in the region

Accessibility of long-term family planning methods: a comparison study between output based approach (OBA) clients verses non-OBA clients in the voucher supported facilities in Kenya

Background: The study seeks to evaluate the difference in access of long-term family planning (LTFP) methods among the output based approach (OBA) and non-OBA clients within the OBA facility. Methods: The study utilises a quasi experimental design. A two tailed unpaired t-test with unequal variance is used to test for the significance variation in the mean access. The difference in difference (DiD) estimates of program effect on long term family planning methods is done to estimate the causal effect by exploiting the group level difference on two or more dimensions. The study also uses a linear regression model to evaluate the predictors of choice of long-term family planning methods. Data was analysed using SPSS version 17. Results: All the methods (Bilateral tubal ligation-BTL, Vasectomy, intrauterine contraceptive device -IUCD, Implants, and Total or combined long-term family planning methods -LTFP) showed a statistical significant difference in the mean utilization between OBA versus non-OBA clients. The difference in difference estimates reveal that the difference in access between OBA and non OBA clients can significantly be attributed to the implementation of the OBA program for intrauterine contraceptive device (p?=?0.002), Implants (p?=?0.004), and total or combined long-term family planning methods (p?=?0.001). The county of residence is a significant determinant of access to all long-term family planning methods except vasectomy and the year of registration is a significant determinant of access especially for implants and total or combined long-term family planning methods. The management level and facility type does not play a role in determining the type of long-term family planning method preferred; however, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as management level influences the choice of all methods (Bilateral tubal ligation, intrauterine contraceptive device, Implants, and combined methods) except vasectomy. The adjusted R2 value, representing the percentage of the variance explained by various models, is larger than 18% for implants and total or combined long-term family planning. Conclusion: The study showed that the voucher services in Kenya has been effective in providing long-term family planning services and improving access of care provided to women of reproductive age. Therefore, voucher scheme can be used as a tool for bridging the gap of unmet needs of family planning in Kenya and could potentially be more effective if rolled out to other counties

Ethnic Mixing and Tolerance in Urban Kenya: A Case Study of Mathare Informal Settelment in Nairobi City

For any multi-ethnic society, tolerance is regarded as an integral element for social, economic, and political stability of the nation. Today, majority of the multi-ethnic nations in Africa still face the challenge on how to promote ethno-cultural tolerance and acceptance among the diverse populations. As a result, many African nations are entangled in inter-state conflicts and civil wars related to ethnic differences that pose a dilemma on whether to promote ethnic pluralism or not. In this study we examined whether ethnic mixing in the city can be a potential tool for promoting ethnic tolerance and peaceful co-existence, which can then be diffused to the rural regions and subsequently to the whole nation. The study adopted integrative study design that allowed use of mixed methods in the collection and analysis of data where eighty participants were interviewed in the initial survey and twenty-four in the in-depth interviews. Consistent with the contact theory the study found a compelling evidence that ethnic group exposure promotes cultural learning and out group accommodation, resulting to individuals who are more open to diversity. The study proposes ethnic mixing and the creation of ethnic diverse spaces as an alternative strategy for promoting ethnic understanding and nationhood. The paper is an excerpt from the author’s post-doctoral thesis on the role of rural-urban migrations in promoting ethnic integration in Kenya

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices on Child and Adolescent Mental Health among Healthcare Workers in sub-Saharan Africa: A Scoping Review

Introduction Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) is a global priority, and especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where there is a lack of access to CAMH care services. Despite the high burden, there is a gap in health services provision for CAMH problems. To bridge this gap, healthcare workers need knowledge of CAMH, the right attitude towards children and adolescents with mental health problems, and health practices geared towards improving CAMH. This scoping review examines Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) on CAMH among healthcare workers in SSA. Methods We will include any original empirical work published on KAP of CAMH among healthcare professionals in SSA. Articles screening will consider concepts such as healthcare professionals (population), conducted in the sub-Saharan African region (context), on KAP on CAMH (concept). The search will be restricted between January 2010, the year when mhGAP intervention guide was released and implemented to present date. The review will follow the methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley for conducting scoping reviews. Databases to be searched include CINHAL, PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycINFO. Additional articles will be identified through cited references of included studies and in gray literature databases. An initial basic search will be conducted to identify search terms to build the search strategy for the extensive search to identify key concepts of the review question. A data extraction template will be used to retrieve relevant text. A narrative synthesis approach will be adopted to explore the relationships within and between the included studies and the robustness of the evidence

Community interventions in Low-And Middle-Income Countries to inform COVID-19 control implementation decisions in Kenya: A rapid systematic review.

Globally, public health measures like face masks, hand hygiene and maintaining social distancing have been implemented to delay and reduce local transmission of COVID-19. To date there is emerging evidence to provide effectiveness and compliance to intervention measures on COVID-19 due to rapid spread of the disease. We synthesized evidence of community interventions and innovative practices to mitigate COVID-19 as well as previous respiratory outbreak infections which may share some aspects of transmission dynamics with COVID-19. In the study, we systematically searched the literature on community interventions to mitigate COVID-19, SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), H1N1 Influenza and MERS (middle east respiratory syndrome) epidemics in PubMed, Google Scholar, World Health Organization (WHO), MEDRXIV and Google from their inception until May 30, 2020 for up-to-date published and grey resources. We screened records, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias in duplicates. We rated the certainty of evidence according to Cochrane methods and the GRADE approach. This study is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020183064). Of 41,138 papers found, 17 studies met the inclusion criteria in various settings in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). One of the papers from LMICs originated from Africa (Madagascar) with the rest from Asia 9 (China 5, Bangladesh 2, Thailand 2); South America 5 (Mexico 3, Peru 2) and Europe 2 (Serbia and Romania). Following five studies on the use of face masks, the risk of contracting SARS and Influenza was reduced OR 0.78 and 95% CI = 0.36-1.67. Equally, six studies on hand hygiene practices reported a reduced risk of contracting SARS and Influenza OR 0.95 and 95% CI = 0.83-1.08. Further two studies that looked at combined use of face masks and hand hygiene interventions showed the effectiveness in controlling the transmission of influenza OR 0.94 and 95% CI = 0.58-1.54. Nine studies on social distancing intervention demonstrated the importance of physical distance through closure of learning institutions on the transmission dynamics of disease. The evidence confirms the use of face masks, good hand hygiene and social distancing as community interventions are effective to control the spread of SARS and influenza in LMICs. However, the effectiveness of community interventions in LMICs should be informed by adherence of the mitigation measures and contextual factors taking into account the best practices. The study has shown gaps in adherence/compliance of the interventions, hence a need for robust intervention studies to better inform the evidence on compliance of the interventions. Nevertheless, this rapid review of currently best available evidence might inform interim guidance on similar respiratory infectious diseases like Covid-19 in Kenya and similar LMIC context

Hospitalized patients with pandemic (H1N1) 2009, Kenya

To describe the epidemiology and clinical course of patients hospitalized with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in Kenya, we reviewed medical records of 49 such patients hospitalized during July-November 2009. The median age (7 years) was lower than that in industrialized countries. More patients had HIV than the general Kenyan population