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Six research studies involving radon and thoron in Kenya were carried out between 1997 and 2007. The studies were mainly small scale and involved a few areas scattered across Nairobi, Rift Valley, Coast and Western regions. The results were captured in seven online journal articles. This paper relooks at the journal articles with the view of underscoring the high radon and thoron areas in Kenya, raising awareness on the sources and risks of radon isotopes in indoor environments and highlighting the need for more research on the isotopes in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on ethnographic research conducted with four faith-based organizations (FBOs) in Nakuru and Nairobi, and among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Mai Mahiu IDP camp, this paper explores the multiple roles played by faith, religious convictions and practices in contexts of displacement, examining the ways in which these serve to integrate displaced persons into their new circumstances. The paper has three main aims. Firstly, through an examination of the roles played by four churches in Nakuru and Nairobi it documents the diverse forms of practical, emotional and spiritual support provided by faith-based actors to IDPs; secondly, it examines how and why certain churches were transformed from spaces of refuge to targets of violence; and finally, it examines the practical and psychological impact of faith on the formation of IDPs’ religious identities and new forms of belonging in IDP camps. The second half of the article therefore argues that IDPs have not simply relied upon externally provided support such as that delivered by the churches of Nakuru and Nairobi, but in fact draw upon their own personal and collective sense of faith and religious belief to overcome challenges compounded by displacement. Whilst recognizing the significance of assistance provided by FBOs to IDPs, the paper therefore ultimately centralizes the agency of IDPs themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A gender perspective in refugee studies usually conjures up images of refugee women. Such images are an outcome of the association of vulnerability with women and children. Yet, it is not only refugee women who face monumental challenges in the country of asylum; refugee men also encounter a wide range of problems. Exile comes with obstacles for refugee men's quest to conform to culturally defined masculinity. This paper presents the nature of the challenges young refugee men predominantly from the Great Lakes region face in exile and the struggles they engage in as they seek to maintain and live up to their pre-flight notions of masculinity. The paper also shows how the men create alternative masculinities that are sustainable in a context that is largely characterized by existential uncertainties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the legal status and economic livelihoods of refugees in Nairobi, focusing on Somalis, the largest urban population residing in the city. The results of the study challenge the Government of Kenya's (GOK) official position and the popular local perception that refugees are an economic burden, and show instead that these urban refugees are economically self-sufficient. Despite this economic independence, conditions for most refugees in Nairobi are extremely difficult. Urban refugees live largely without material assistance or legal protection from the GOK or UNHCR, are vulnerable to police arrest at any time and face high levels of xenophobia from the local population. By highlighting refugee self-sufficiency in Nairobi, this article lends support to the idea of local integration as a viable, durable solution to their situation of protracted exile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates individual motives to participate in rotating savings and credit associations (roscas). Detailed evidence from roscas in a Kenyan slum (Nairobi) suggests that most roscas are predominantly composed of women, particularly those living in a couple and earning an independent income. We propose an explanation of this based on conflictual interactions within the household. Participation in a rosca is a strategy a wife employs to protect her savings against claims by her husband for immediate consumption. The empirical implications of the model are then tested using the data collected in Kenya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the livelihoods of Congolese refugees in relation to local and legal integration in Nairobi, Kenya. It examines the economic livelihoods of the refugees which are considered as an asset rather than a burden. It argues that integration and livelihoods are interlinked. It explores the debate regarding the local integration in urban areas.

Ethnicity has been shown to shape political, social, and economic behavior in Africa, but the underlying mechanisms remain contested. We utilize lab experiments to isolate one mechanism—an individual's bias in favor of coethnics and against non-coethnics—that has been central in both theory and in the conventional wisdom about the impact of ethnicity. We employ an unusually rich research design involving a large sample of 1300 participants from Nairobi, Kenya; the collection of multiple rounds of experimental data with varying proximity to national elections; within-lab priming conditions; both standard and novel experimental measures of coethnic bias; and an implicit association test (IAT). We find very little evidence of an ethnic bias in the behavioral games, which runs against the common presumption of extensive coethnic bias among ordinary Africans and suggests that mechanisms other than a coethnic bias in preferences must account for the associations we see in the region between ethnicity and political, social, and economic outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The presence of HIV, tuberculosis and non-communicable diseases result in a double burden of disease in the East African community. Most studies have focused on urban Nairobi and western Kenya, leading to a lack of information on rural regions that make up 75% of the population. This study determined baseline rates and barriers to medication self-management in rural Meru County.Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive community survey focused on Meru, Kenya.Setting: Participants were surveyed at a local Kithoka dispensary and the government operated Meru Level 5 Hospital.Participants: Seventy-five chronic illness patients between June 2016 and July 2016.Intervention: Twelve-question Measures of Drug Self-Management Scale (MeDS).Main Outcome Measure: Baseline rates of medication self-management. A score of 10 or more defined 'adequate' medication drug self-management.Results: The average MeDS score was 8.16 ± 2.4, indicating inadequate medication self-management. There was no significant difference across age (P = 0.75), and between the scores of males and females (8.1 ± 2.4 and 8.2 ± 2.5, respectively, P = 0.89). Minor side effects and the idea that taking medicines disrupt life were highly associated with inadequate drug self-management (r = 0.58). Forgetfulness and non-adherence had the highest correlation (r = 0.64). Cost is a large barrier, with 64% agreeing that they have a hard time paying for their medicines.Conclusions: All questions on the MeDS survey had statistically significant correlations with the overall score, while gender and age did not. The MeDS questionnaire showed to be an effective tool to evaluate risk of long-term non-adherence globally in rural populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's comments on the 7th Global Conference on Health Promotion held in Nairobi, Kenya, in October 2009. According to the author, the Conference statement, the Nairobi Call to Action (NC2A), is important to promote health in less developed countries in the world. The author says that there are many challenges to the development of health promotion, including inequities in health, unequal health impacts of climate change, and increasing migration between countries.

Understanding how the level of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected breast milk cells (BMCs) affects HIV transmission via breast-feeding can shed light on the mechanism of infection and aid in establishing effective interventions. The proportion of infected cells to total cells was measured in serial breast milk samples collected from 291 HIV-1-infected women in Nairobi, Kenya, by use of real-time DNApolymerase chain reaction amplification of BMCs. The number of infected BMCs per million cells was associated with levels of cell-free viral RNA in breast milk ( R = .144; P = .032 ), levels of cell-free virus in blood plasma (R = .365; P < .001), and the detection of proviral DNA in cervical and vaginal secretions ( P< .001and P = .030, respectively). The number of infected BMCs per million cells was lower in colostrum or early milk than in mature milk ( P < .001). Previous studies demonstrated that the concentration of BMCs varies throughout lactation, and we used these data to transform infected BMCs per million cells to infected BMCs per milliliter. The estimated concentration of infected BMCs per milliliter was higher in colostrum or early milk than in mature milk (P < .001). Each log10 increase in infected BMCs per milliliter was associated with a 3.19-fold- increased risk of transmission (P = .002), after adjustment for cell-free virus in plasma (hazard ratio [HR], 2.09; P = .03) and breast milk (HR, 1.01; P = 1.00 ). This suggests that infected BMCs may play a more important role in transmission of HIV via breast-feeding than does cell-free virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on the outcome of community policing in Nairobi, Kenya. Tendency of the scheme to assist paramilitary policing agencies in co-opting local business and political elites; Evaluation of the community policing in several African countries; Importation of community policing to Southern Asia.

This article examines recent violence in Nairobi in the context of increased vigilante activity throughout Kenya, and relates this to the broader political context of violence in the run-up to the next general election, which is expected to take place before the end of 2002. The starting point for the analysis is the conflict between two rival vigilante groups in Nairobi's Kariobangi North estate, Mungiki and the Taliban. It is argued that existing scholarly interpretations of Mungiki need to be reassessed in view of recent violent and criminal activities linked to the movement, and in light of the shifting political position of its leaders and the ethnocentric posture they have adopted. The increasing prevalence of vigilante groups in the city is shown to be partly a reflection of growing criminal activities, especially extortion, and partly the consequence of struggles for political control in the city, where the ruling party KANU has only slender support. The 'New Vigilantes' of Nairobi exploit urban insecurity for materialist gain, but they have also merged with the Majeshi la Wazee ('Armies of the Elders') that have long been deployed to 'protect' the interests of their political clients. In this context, heightening urban violence is seen to be both criminal and political in character, and it is argued that it is likely that vigilante groups will again be used as political instruments in the electoral struggle for the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on two reports related to global health including one on the role of urban refugees of Nairobi, Kenya in global health and another on the increasing risk of tuberculosis among foreign-borne populations. The former report suggests the need of establishing and strengthening health programs for Kenyan refugees in Nairobi, Kenya. While the later report suggests that worldwide tuberculosis elimination depends on enhanced surveillance and control among foreign-born persons.