Rural livelihood sources for urban households: a study of Nakuru town, Kenya

ASC – Publicaties niet-programma gebonde

Improving school feeding through school farming: the case of Nakuru town, Kenya

ASC – Publicaties niet-programma gebonde

School farming and school feeding in Nakuru town, Kenya: practice and potential

Most research on urban agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa has concentrated on farming by individual urban households, while farming by urban institutions has been largely overlooked. Probably the most prevalent and important type of institutional urban agriculture is school farming, the focus of this paper. The authors examine school farming and school feeding in Nakuru town in Kenya on the basis of a survey among primary and secondary schools carried out in June 2006. A largely structured questionnaire was used to obtain data on school characteristics, school farming activities, and school feeding practices. Moreover, anthropometric data were gathered for all class 1 primary school pupils. The study shows that school farming is very common in Nakuru town. Almost all primary and secondary schools are engaged in flower gardening and tree growing, over half of the schools practise crop cultivation and a number of schools keep some livestock. The majority of crop-cultivating schools also have a school feeding programme. Two 'success stories' demonstrate that schools in Nakuru can reach a high degree of self-sufficiency for their feeding programmes. Factors contributing to this success are the availability of land and water, and external support for school farming. [ASC Leiden abstract]ASC – Publicaties niet-programma gebonde

Water reforms and interventions in urban Kenya: institutional set-up, emerging impact and challenges

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Water interventions for the urban poor: the case of Homa Bay, Kenya

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Multi-spatial livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa: rural farming by urban households - the case of Nakuru town, Kenya

Multispatial livelihoods refer to households with a livelihood foothold in both urban and rural areas. Although it is well-known that multispatial households are common in sub-Saharan Africa, the phenomenon has seldom been looked at from the urban household perspective. A review of the literature indicates that rural food and/or income sources are important for urban dwellers. This chapter presents data from a survey on urban farming carried out in Nakuru town, Kenya, in 1999-2000. These data concern size and location of rural plots, ownership and use of rural plots, their importance in qualitative terms, and differences between urban households having access to rural land ('rural farmers') and those who do not ('non-farmers'). The survey shows that over 60 percent of Nakuru households can be considered as having a multispatial livelihood. Although one-adult households and low-income households are relatively underrepresented in the survey, multispatial livelihoods may be particularly important for the latter group's food security situation. However, the results also indicate that rural farming by urban dwellers should be seen mainly in terms of 'opportunity' and not, like urban farming, in terms of 'necessity'. Includes bibliographical references, notes, and summary.ASC – Publicaties niet-programma gebonde

Urban farmers in Nakuru, Kenya

The present report contains the result of a general survey, carried out in June-July 1999, on farming practices performed by the inhabitants of Nakuru town, Kenya. The two major objectives of the survey were: 1) to collect basic data on farming by the Nakuru townspeople and 2) to provide the municipal authorties of Nakuru with information on urban agriculture. The survey provided data on such topics as the extent of farming in Nakuru town in terms of both geographical distribution and numbers of households, the types of farming in town, the amounts of food produced, the types of inputs used, the constraints which farming in town faces, the characteristics of the urban farming households as opposed to the non-farming households, the reasons to farm in town and the importance attached to it, and the extent of rural farming by Nakuru town dwellers.ASC – Publicaties niet-programma gebonde

Genetic characterization of influenza A(H3N2) viruses circulating in coastal Kenya, 2009-2017

Background Influenza viruses evolve rapidly and undergo immune driven selection, especially in the hemagglutinin (HA) protein. We report amino acid changes affecting antigenic epitopes and receptor‐binding sites of A(H3N2) viruses circulating in Kilifi, Kenya, from 2009 to 2017. Methods Next‐generation sequencing (NGS) was used to generate A(H3N2) virus genomic data from influenza‐positive specimens collected from hospital admissions and health facility outpatients presenting with acute respiratory illness to health facilities within the Kilifi Health and Demographic Surveillance System. Full‐length HA sequences were utilized to characterize A(H3N2) virus genetic and antigenic changes. Results From 186 (90 inpatient and 96 outpatient) influenza A virus‐positive specimens processed, 101 A(H3N2) virus whole genomes were obtained. Among viruses identified in inpatient specimens from 2009 to 2015, divergence of circulating A(H3N2) viruses from the vaccine strains A/Perth/16/2009, A/Texas/50/2012, and A/Switzerland/9715293/2013 formed 6 genetic clades (A/Victoria/208/2009‐like, 3B, 3C, 3C.2a, 4, and 7). Among viruses identified in outpatient specimens from 2015 to 2017, divergence of circulating A(H3N2) viruses from vaccine strain A/Hong Kong/4801/2014 formed clade 3C.2a, subclades 3C.2a2 and 3C.2a3, and subgroup 3C.2a1b. Several amino acid substitutions were associated with the continued genetic evolution of A(H3N2) strains in circulation. Conclusions Our results suggest continuing evolution of currently circulating A(H3N2) viruses in Kilifi, coastal Kenya and suggest the need for continuous genetic and antigenic viral surveillance of circulating seasonal influenza viruses with broad geographic representation to facilitate prompt and efficient selection of influenza strains for inclusion in future influenza vaccines

Schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminth infections in schoolchildren in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of epidemiological data pertaining to schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in the north-eastern part of DRC enrolling 400 schoolchildren aged 9-14 years. Stool and urine samples were subjected to standard diagnostic methods and examined under a microscope for helminth eggs. RESULTS: Four out of five children were infected with at least one helminth species. Schistosoma mansoni was the predominant species (57.8%). Urine examinations were all negative for S. haematobium. CONCLUSIONS: S. mansoni and STH infections are highly endemic in the surveyed part of the DRC, calling for interventions in school-aged children