The nbsp; deadly Zika virus, which almost marred the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, has been detected in Kenya for the first time.
Between 2016 and 2017, some 215,319 Zika infections were reported in Brazil with 2,347 infants born with head deformities in a condition known as microcephaly.
On Friday, local researchers said they have detected 33 Zika incidents in West Pokot County and one in Turkana County, the first ever recorded in Kenya.
The team from the Ministry of Health, the Nairobi-based International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (Icipe), Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology want measures put in place to prevent a possible outbreak.
The researchers in the study published in Virology Journal on Friday on May 17, 2019, said they had found evidence Zika virus has been circulating undetected in human populations in West Pokot and Turkana counties.
Ethiopia has started to ration electricity for
domestic and industrial customers after a drop in water levels in hydroelectric
dams led to a production deficit, the minister for water and electricity,
Seleshi Bekele, said on Friday. Read more>>
Carbon
capture and storage is punted as one of the most effective ways of reducing
carbon emissions, and South Africa has two perfect sites for this, in the
Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. But progress seems to have stalled. Is this
option still on the cards? Read more…
Flooding in Tanzania has killed five people and forced about 2,500 to flee their homes after a week of torrential rain in the country’s south, an official said Friday.
Schools have closed in Kyela, a district on the border of Lake Malawi, and families fled to shelters after losing everything in the rising waters.
“The damage from these floods is enormous,” Salome Magambo, the district’s administrative secretary, told AFP.
“Since the beginning of the week, we have reported five people killed and 2,570 homeless, some of whom are staying with friends or in schools and churches.” Food and medical services have been extended to those stranded, she added.
Farming land in the district known for its rice production has also been inundated, destroying crops and raising fears of food shortages in coming months.
In April 2018 at least 14 people were killed in torrential rains and flooding in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s economic capital.
CarePay
International will use the investment to expand its mobile platform beyond
Kenya. The startup plans to re-hit the road for Nigeria, after which it will
break into further markets like that of Tanzania. With the raise, the medical
startup becomes one of the most funded African startups, definitely beating its
competitors to the top…Read
more>>
Pollinators contribute directly to food security. Nearly three-quarters of the plants that produce 90 percent of the world’s food require this external help. And according to bee experts at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, a third of the world’s food production depends on bees… Read more>>
Sanitary waste disposal suffers a great deal in urban households, where sanitary bins are largely absent. These households dispose of the waste, in garbage bins together with kitchen and other inorganic house waste. But how safe is this? Soiled napkins and diapers carry body fluids and waste, otherwise termed as biomedical-pathological waste, despite their continual treatment as municipal waste.
Waste nature
In Kenya sanitary waste is uncategorized. Its neither classified as biomedical nor Plastic waste but is treated as municipal waste. NEMA’s (National waste management strategy 2014), definition of various types of waste and their management practices has been clearly defined. According to the strategy document, domestic waste includes kitchen waste, green paper waste and non-biodegradable such as plastics, glass bottles, cans, metals, and wrappings. On the other hand, biomedical waste is defined as waste generated from health facilities, research institutions or during immunization of human beings and animals. Classified as: infectious, sharps, pharmaceutical wastes, chemical waste, and pathological waste. Sanitary waste is biomedical but its disposal strategies are those of municipal waste. This is a clear indication that sanitary waste has been swept under the rugs.
Disposal strategy
From the top of the supply chain, a lack of clear disposal packaging means couples the neglect. This sees most girls and women dispose of the waste openly, with the considerate ones wrapping the waste in newspapers, paper bags, or the product packaging. These wrappings, however, can only grip for a while. Unraveled and poorly disposed of sanitary waste poses an infection risk to waste collectors.
Safe disposal of waste means ensuring that the process of destruction of the soiled materials is undertaken without human contact and with minimal environmental pollution. Lack of effective waste disposal has serious effects that are mostly surpassed.
Figure 2 unprotected waste collectors suffer the potential danger of infectious pathogen image source: PicsWe
Unorganized waste collection, transportation networks, and disposal of municipal waste further worsen the situation. Most trucks and “mikokoteni” used in the informal waste collection are open and unfit, compounded with poor roads that characterize pathways to dumpsites, hence a big volume of waste end up in roadsides rather than the designated landfills.
Moreover, lack of waste collection fee in informal settlements, see them dispose of waste along with road reserves, unutilized land, river streams, and sewer lines. Disposable sanitary napkins and diapers constitute superabsorbent polymers, that easily absorbs water, bloat and eventually blocks the drainages and sewer lines. Unclogging of the sewage systems has predominately been left to divers, who do it without protective gears, despite the waste being a potential harbor of pathogens.
Restoring the beauty -disposal pouches
Figure 3 Lady Grace pouch
Wangechi Kamau at the age of 25 years had identified the gap. She wanted a changed in the way women disposed of their soiled napkins. Out of research, she established that sanitary waste led to the eye, respiratory and skin infections to cleaners who clean women lavatories without masks and gloves. Seeing the thoughtless way in which the waste was disposed of, she was innovative enough and decided to offer a solution- a sanitary disposal bag, dubbed Lady Grace. The bag enables women to stash their used napkins and hygienically dispose of them.
This has a number of benefits such as masking the odour and reducing human contact with the waste. Great thought for the Kenyan woman, right? However, How do we get there? Its high time the Sanitary napkins manufacturers’ and brand owners danced into the tune, and embed clearly marked pouches or suitable wrapping material, along with their products. The mark-red dot- on the pouches should easily identifiable to waste collectors to ease sorting and reduce human contact.
This could be any mother’s story. “I noticed something was amiss with my child of two years. He was not meeting the basic milestones as other children. He was averse to any touch as well as eye contact. He did not cry or make any sound that spelt out language development. We consulted many specialists who told us he would be fine and would adjust like the other children. Some said he was mentally retarded. We finally got to meet up with a specialist who told us that my son was autistic.”
Did you Know that One out of every 160 children suffers autism spectrum disorder?The first autism report globally was by Kanner in 1943. Three decades later in the 1970s autism spectrum disorder was reported among African children in the continent covering countries such as Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and South Africa. It is harder to determine the rates of autism in Africa given the limited access to clinicians in sub-Saharan Africa.
Mr. and Ms. autism Kenya beauty pageant was held on 20th April 2 019. This, however, does not shift focus from the fact that very little is known about autism in Africa. In fact, almost everything that is known about autism comes from high-income countries. This developmental disorder usually presents itself around the ages of 3. Autism is usually characterized by a deficit in verbal and non-verbal communication as well as social interaction skills.
The United Nations (UN) predicts that 40% of the world’s children are likely to call Africa home by 2050. This means that the number of individuals living with autism on the continent is expected to substantially increase. Research has not revealed the exact cause of autism. There is a combination of possible triggers that lead to autism either genetic or environmental.
Researchers believe that several genes are involved in autism. Some of these genes increase a child’s susceptibility to the disorder, while others affect communication and brain development. The individual effect of these genes accounts for a small number of cases but if combined the gene influence is greater. While Some genes occur spontaneously others are inherited.
Figure 3image source:niehs.nhi.org
Autism research news sire reported that Children with autism in Africa are diagnosed late around the age of 8 compared to other children in different parts of the world. Part of the reasons that attribute to this, is the lack of cultural sensitivity. The majority are ignorant of the condition in the first place. In addition, there is no biological marker or medical test for autism posing a challenge to the detection of autism.
Medical costs are high thus marginalizing the low-income earners in Africa. Moreover, the treatment interventions ranging from applied behaviour analysis to occupational therapy tend to be so expensive. The drugs are also costly making most opt out. The government should seek to invest in the medical arena surrounding autism in order to cut medical cost as most cannot afford it.
Stigma still surrounds autism in Africa. Most, being unaware of the condition believe that it is a curse. This prompts a number of parents with autistic children to withdrawal and hides them from society to avoid shame and stereotype. This can be solved Autism awareness campaigns o from the grass root levels. Both medical practitioners and the government should take a lead, to help develop acceptance, and prompt early medical interventions for the autistic patient. The education gap in autism should be addressed. more should be incorporated in the curriculum to raise awareness.
Efforts to bring autism to the open are just beginning. It is a huge responsibility, slowly eating our social interactions and eventually taking a toll on sustainability.
Scientists
in the United States have detected the highest levels of planet-warming carbon
dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere since records began, sounding new alarm over the
relentless rise of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. The Mauna Loa Observatory
in Hawaii, which has tracked atmospheric CO2 levels since the late 1950s, on
Saturday morning detected 415.26 parts per million (ppm). the highest level
ever. Read
more>>>
On 1 July 2019, South Africans will be paying more for
electricity when the recently approved 14% Eskom tariff hike by Nersa (the
National Energy Regulator) is enforced. This hike is set to occur alongside
rising food and fuel costs and will add financial pressure on South African
households, hitting the poorest consumers the hardest. Read
more>>
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
