Search

African countries seek to intensify their industrialization while also increasingly pursuing green growth and, more recently, circular economy strategies. The competitive implications of this are, however, little researched empirically. We seek to investigate how African countries, examplified in this paper by Kenya, are experiencing a green and circular structural change of their economies. On the basis of early findings from a survey among 27 mixed manufacturing companies in Ruaraka industrial area in Nairobi, we highlight green and circular innovation trends, conditions and dynamics for different types of industries and firms (size). We apply a strong business perspective in framing the questions. We conclude that the companies are reaching a moderate stage of greening,although with a high degree of variability. Circular innovations are relatively widespread and ensuring resource supply seems to be a more important incentive than cutting costs. There seems overall to be quite strong business incentives to go circular among Kenyan companies, although these incentives are not necessarily realized by the companies, a factor that could be utilized in policymaking. We suggest a strong business-oriented survey methodology as a way forward to expand insights into the greening of industries in Africa and similar economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Urban Studies (Sage Publications, Ltd.) is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper examines students’ food perspectives in three rapidly diversifying contemporary contexts: a university setting in Kigali, Rwanda where students help to prepare Chinese dumplings; a school garden and canteen in Nairobi, Kenya where students jostle for bowls of beans and rice; and a fast-food restaurant in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where wealthy students sometimes eat. In interpreting these settings, the paper contrasts students’ food perspectives with the work conducted in these countries by the United Nations World Food Program. The work draws on a theoretical literature on food as symbolising social relations to argue that the WFP might deal with food more complexly in these countries by building and expanding on students’ already astute and complex food perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

City governments in sub-Saharan Africa have historically been beholden to national governments. Lack of national urban policies and tensions between national and city governments are common. Yet, for decades, research has identified small-scale innovations at the urban scale. Rarely, however, are policy innovations in African cities so influential as to lead national governments to scale up city based actions. This is particularly true in sectors that have been the dominant purview of central governments. This paper examines how citizens, civil society organizations, city governments and national bureaucrats in two cities of East Africa – Kampala and Nairobi – have interacted to produce policy innovation in agriculture. Agriculture has always been a sector of high national importance in Africa, but increasingly cities are becoming focal points for agricultural policy change. The two cities compared in the paper are unusual in having a collection of interests who have been advocating for improved support and recognition of urban food production. Indeed, these cities are rare for having continually promoted the formalization of urban agriculture in local and national policy. While advocacy for urban agriculture is common globally, what is not clear is under what conditions local advocacy produces policy uptake and change. What are the conditions when city-based advocacy deepens the institutionalization of policy support locally and nationally? Drawing from theory and research on policy change and African urban politics and governance, and qualitative data collection in each country, this paper argues that while external, international assistance has helped initiate policy dialogue, domestic civil society organizations and their engagement with local and national bureaucrats are key to policy support at the local and national scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Kawasaki disease has been described across the globe, although publications from Africa are limited. To our knowledge, there are no publications on Kawasaki disease from Kenya, which triggered this report. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was undertaken to identify in-patients with a discharge diagnosis of Kawasaki disease, over 2 different 5-year periods, at two pediatric hospitals in Nairobi, Kenya. We reviewed the medical records of all patients and report their clinical findings, diagnostic workup and treatment. In addition, we undertook a detailed review of the literature. Results: Twenty-three patients with Kawasaki disease were identified, of those 12 (52.2%) had incomplete disease. The mean age was 2.3 years (SD+/-2.2) (range 0.3–10.3) with a male to female ratio of 1:1. The mean duration of fever at diagnosis was 8.3 days (SD+/-4.7) (range 2–20). Oral changes were the most common clinical feature and conjunctivitis the least common. Thrombocytosis at diagnosis was seen in 52% (12/23). Twenty-one patients (91.3%) were treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and all except 1 received aspirin. Baseline echocardiograms were performed in 95.7% (22/23) and found to be abnormal in 3 (13.6%). Follow-up data was limited. Our literature review identified 79 publications with documented cases of Kawasaki disease in children from 22 countries across the African continent with a total of 1115 patients including those from this report. Only 153 reported cases, or 13.7%, are from sub-Saharan Africa. Conclusions: This is the first publication on Kawasaki disease from Kenya and one of the largest reports from sub-Saharan Africa. It is the first to have a complete review of the number of published cases from the African continent. Challenges in the diagnosis and management of Kawasaki disease in many African countries include disease awareness, infectious confounders, access and cost of intravenous immunoglobulin, access to pediatric echocardiography and follow-up. Increasing awareness and health care resources are important for improving outcomes of Kawasaki disease in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper investigates intermediate input effects and labor pooling in the context of urban informality, examining the handicraft industry of Nairobi, Kenya. The paper tests if conditions found in informality interfere with transition pathways in production clusters. 102 semi-structured interviews were conducted with industry participants, including 69 production firms. Findings confirm the existence of important agglomeration economies, but those benefits are curtailed due to constraints of informality on firms, especially location constraints in urban space. At the same time, informality also introduces particular diseconomies of agglomeration that undermine the value of proximity of firms to each other, particularly within clusters. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: Fertility desires require new understanding in a context of expanding access to antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper studies the fertility desires and their rationales, of slum-dwelling Kenyan men and women living with HIV/AIDS who know their serostatus, but have different antiretroviral therapy treatment statuses. It addresses two research questions: How do people living with HIV/AIDS consider their future fertility? What factors contribute to an explanation of fertility desires among people living with HIV/AIDS. Methods: A mixed methods study (survey [n = 513] and in-depth interviews [n = 41]) with adults living with HIV/AIDS living in Nairobi slums was conducted in 2010. Regression analyses assess independent relationships between fertility desires and socio-demographic factors. Analyses of in-depth interviews are used to interpret the statistical analyses of fertility desires. Results: Our analyses show that fertility desires are complex and ambivalent, reflecting tensions between familial and societal pressures to have children versus pressures for HIV (re-)infection prevention. More than a third (34%) of men and women living with HIV expressed future fertility desires; however, this is significantly lower than in the general population. Factors independently associated with desiring a child among people living with HIV/AIDS were age, sex, number of surviving children, social support and household wealth of the respondent. Discussion: Increasing access to ART is changing the context of future childbearing for people living with HIV/AIDS. Prevailing values mean that, for many people living with HIV/AIDS, having children is seen as necessary for a “normal” and healthy adult life. However, the social rewards of childbearing conflict with moral imperatives of HIV prevention, presenting dilemmas about the “proper” reproductive behaviour of people living with HIV/AIDS. The health policy and service delivery implications of these findings are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores some implications of globalisation for planning education and presents faculty and student reflections on an international urban studio and three policy workshops in the Municipality of Ruiru, located outside of Nairobi, Kenya. This learning was embedded in a long-term partnership between the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Nairobi and Columbia University. We argue that carefully structured international studios and workshops are rich learning experiences that can help teach respect for local learning and knowledge. Our findings also suggest the importance of transformational and 'authentic' partnerships between universities, faculty and local urban players. These are partnerships characterised by equality in the way of working with all partners changing and learning in a reciprocal manner as they work together. We also underscore the importance of more explicit theorisation and evaluation of the growing number of international partnerships in urban planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public monuments in colonial Nairobi were visual links to the British empire, and served as a means of asserting imperial power. During this period, colonial memories and identities were inscribed into Nairobi's landscape by the dominant group, the elite of the European population. However, at the moment of Kenya's achievement of independence from colonial rule, such identities and assertions of power were challenged as statues were removed from the city. This paper examines the forces behind the decolonisation of Nairobi's monumental landscape and how this landscape visualised the changing political and cultural contexts of the city. Comparisons are made with the removal of statues from Sudan, India and the Democratic Republic of Congo in order to situate the Kenyan experience. Through a comparative examination of the decolonisation of Nairobi's monumental landscape, this paper illustrates how the removal of public monuments from the city was exploited by both the coloniser and the colonised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small and informal enterprises are preponderant in Africa's manufacturing sector. Their growth is negligibly low except when young and small, but little is known beyond this. This paper reports the results of our field study of a metalworking cluster in Nairobi. As competition was intensified by the entry of new enterprises, the education level of entrepreneurs became important in determining enterprise performance, which is reminiscent of East Asian experiences. Recently, some enterprises have left for formal industrial areas partly because their original sites have become too congested for them to grow and partly because being formal facilitates marketing and further growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper aims to extend the knowledge of the psychosocial impact of orphanhood through a detailed description of child welfare outcomes; explore the relationship between child-, household- and neighbourhood-level characteristics and child welfare outcomes; and suggest potential points of intervention to support orphans and vulnerable children. Methods: Two indices of psychosocial welfare were developed: emotional well-being and perceived care. Multilevel regression models were applied to identify the sources of variability in these outcomes. Results: Vulnerability was associated more with poverty and neighbourhood characteristics, than with orphanhood. Conclusion: Targeted support for orphans should take into account the loss incurred, the age and gender of the child, and the characteristics of the community in which the child lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supermarkets in urban Kenya have risen from a tiny niche a half decade ago to a fifth of food retail, spreading well beyond the richer consumers to derive more than a third of their sales and half of their customers from low income and poor consumers. This paper explores the patterns and determinants of purchases of the overall food category versus fresh fruits and vegetables, over Nairobi consumer income strata, for purchases from supermarkets versus traditional retailers. Implications are drawn for development programs to help farmers be strategically positioned for change in the food markets facing them. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Universal access to basic sanitation remains a global challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Efforts are underway to improve access to sanitation in informal settlements, often through shared facilities. However, access to these facilities and their potential health gains—notably, the prevention of diarrheal diseases—may be hampered by contextual aspects related to the physical environment. This study explored associations between the built environment and perceived safety to access toilets, and associations between the latter and diarrheal infections. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out between July 2021 and February 2022, including 1714 households in two informal settlements in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) and two in Nairobi (Kenya). We employed adjusted odds ratios (aORs) obtained from multiple logistic regressions (MLRs) to test whether the location of the most frequently used toilet was associated with a perceived lack of safety to use the facility at any time, and whether this perceived insecurity was associated with a higher risk of diarrhea. The MLRs included several exposure and control variables, being stratified by city and age groups. We employed bivariate logistic regressions to test whether the perceived insecurity was associated with settlement morphology indicators derived from the built environment. Results: Using a toilet outside the premises was associated with a perceived insecurity both in Abidjan [aOR = 3.14, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.13–8.70] and in Nairobi (aOR = 57.97, 95% CI: 35.93–93.53). Perceived insecurity to access toilets was associated with diarrheal infections in the general population (aOR = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.29–2.79 in Abidjan, aOR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.22–2.34 in Nairobi), but not in children below the age of 5 years. Several settlement morphology features were associated with perceived insecurity, namely, buildings' compactness, the proportion of occupied land, and angular deviation between neighboring structures. Conclusions: Toilet location was a critical determinant of perceived security, and hence, must be adequately addressed when building new facilities. The sole availability of facilities may be insufficient to prevent diarrheal infections. People must also be safe to use them. Further attention should be directed toward how the built environment affects safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on ride‐hailing drivers in Africa. It argues that, although ride‐hailing offers paid work to some African workers, the commodified and informalized nature of this work results in poor job quality, the effects of which were greatly amplified during the pandemic. Drawing on a mixed methods approach involving in‐depth interviews with ride‐hailing drivers in Nairobi and digital ethnography, it also provides accounts of drivers' hustles to demonstrate strategies of resilience, reworking and resistance among informal workers. The article concludes by highlighting the need for adequate regulatory frameworks and on‐the‐ground solidarity networks to ensure decent working conditions, and to push back against precarity in the gig economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing piped water and sewer services is extremely capital intensive, yet most of this infrastructure is buried, hidden from citizens and ratepayers. Roman emperors built elaborate public fountains to increase the salience of massive infrastructure investments to the public, yet modern households give scarce thought to the water network that serves them. At the same time, tariffs are often too low to recover operations and maintenance costs, let alone capital replacement and system expansion. We use a field experiment to investigate whether providing 353 households in Nairobi, Kenya with information about the water infrastructure that serves them changes their perceptions of water and sewer bills. Compared to a control group, we find that providing households verbal and visual information (in person) about the capital intensity of water service delivery in Nairobi increased their perceptions of "fair" water bills by 15%–24% above the control mean of 404 KSH/mo. Key Points: Water supply is capital intensive but the infrastructure is out of public viewThe public's lack of knowledge about infrastructure may undermine support for price increasesPeople who were provided information about local water infrastructure reported 15%–24% higher "fair" price for water [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents the development and application of a new multi-residue analytical method providing the first data on the environmental occurrence of human pharmaceuticals in Africa, particularly the Nairobi River basin (Kenya). Based on pharmaceutical consumption data available for the Nairobi region, 43 ‘priority’ pharmaceutically active ingredients (PAIs) were selected for this study. On the basis of magnetic sector high-resolution mass spectrometry, a new methodology involving both full-scan screening and selective target analysis has been developed to investigate the presence of the defined priority PAIs. Subsequent analysis of the corresponding standard compounds provided the full confirmation and indicative concentrations (low ng/L–high μg/L) of 10 human PAIs in the Nairobi River. The detected compounds belong to different classes, i.e. antibiotics, analgesic/anti-inflammatory and anti-epileptic drugs, antimalarials and antiretrovirals. Ibuprofen, paracetamol, sulfamethoxazole and zidovudine showed to be the most concentrated PAIs (about 10–30μg/L). The concentration of the antiretrovirals (lamivudine, zidovudine and nevirapine) is clearly higher than those reported in the literature, although environmental data on this class of PAIs are still very limited. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that provides evidence of detection of lamivudine in surface water. The presented unique data on the occurrence of selected PAIs in the aquatic environment of Africa clearly show that the high prevalence of specific diseases like HIV/AIDS infection in developing countries might result in a different pattern of PAIs in environmental waters compared to the more developed regions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: An estimated 30–70% of Nairobi’s population lives in informal settlements with very poor access to basic services, yet children are notably absent from the informal settlements. This paper combines qualitative research with three micro data sets and finds that the presence of urban basic services is importantly linked to child residence of migrant parents. This finding is critical for policy debates on slum improvements. It predicts that improvements in services need to be accompanied by appropriate social and educational improvements servicing children and supports recent calls for a more multi-sectoral, participatory, and child-centered approach to urban informal planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policymakers and utility managers can use a variety of tariff structures to calculate customers' bills for water and sanitation services, ranging from a simple fixed monthly fee to complicated multi‐part tariffs with seasonal pricing based on metered water use. This study examines the performance of several alternative tariff structures for water and wastewater services in Nairobi, Kenya using a dynamic tariff simulation model applied to a complete set of billing records from Nairobi City Water and Sewer Company. Simulations show that a uniform volumetric price tariff structure performs as well as or better than several increasing block tariff (IBT) structures across the six performance metrics considered (customer welfare, social welfare, cost recovery, the subsidy delivered through the tariff, subsidy incidence, and water conservation). These findings are robust to changes in the level of cost recovery. This finding challenges the wisdom of the widespread use of IBTs in low‐ and middle‐income countries and current perceptions of best practice in tariff design. Key Points: Uniform price tariffs perform as well as or better than increasing block tariff alternatives relative to several metrics of tariff performanceTo promote economic development and address water scarcity, economic efficiency should be a primary objective of tariff reformRevising tariffs to improve cost recovery is politically difficult because customers perceive increased water bills as welfare losses [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small enterprises face a financial landscape that limits their access to bank loans and trade credit. They adapt by relying on a range of other mechanisms to relieve the financing constraint. Employing an institutional framework, the paper explores the use of credit from suppliers, customers and other sources. A unique finding is that very small firms use purchase orders as a signaling device to obtain irregular access to trade credit. The use of pre-payments, installments and overdrafts is also investigated. The results indicate that small firms may be less credit constrained than is suggested by a narrow definition of credit. Evidence is drawn from a survey of 115 micro and small manufacturing enterprises in Nairobi. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Urban refugees' educational access and achievement is shaped by structural and social factors at the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels. We draw on data from structured questionnaires, focus group discussions, and brief interviews in Nairobi, Kenya with refugee learners, caregivers, schoolteachers and administrators, and nongovernmental organisation (NGO) staff who work in refugee education to identify factors related to "learning out-of-place." Determinants of education for refugees included structural and systems-level factors (e.g., national refugee-hosting policies, education system differences between countries of origin and Kenya), school and community factors (e.g., school types and resources, experiences of discrimination), and household and individual factors (e.g., living conditions, parental involvement in education, exposure to trauma, language proficiency). Education is a key strategy to integrate refugees into the social and economic fabric of host communities; as such, it is crucial to identify and address the various factors that affect refugees' ability to obtain an education in countries of first asylum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing number of low and middle income countries have introduced social pension programs for older people. Research has highlighted that the impact of such programs can extend beyond the primary recipient when funds are shared. It less clear the extent to which such redistribution persists in the lowest resource settings. Using data from a survey conducted in 2016, this paper examines how recipients of the Kenyan Older Persons Cash Transfer Program (OPCTP) living in two slum communities in Nairobi reallocate their social pension by examining the characteristics of older people who are more likely to share their cash and identifying secondary beneficiaries. Findings suggest that 40% of beneficiaries re-allocate some or all of the cash received. The majority of secondary beneficiaries are either grandchildren or children of the primary beneficiary. Overall, a higher proportion of the total cash is shared with secondary beneficiaries living in rural Kenya, as compared to those living in the same household. This highlights the role played by older people, even the most vulnerable, in providing support to wider kin networks; reinforcing the argument that investing in social pensions has much broader potential societal impact than the intended aims of reducing recipient household poverty. By enhancing economic opportunities and investments in human capital more broadly, societies that invest in social pension programs may improve the overall living conditions and experiences of ageing in their countries at a critical moment of global population ageing. • Beneficiaries of the Kenyan Older Persons Cash Transfer Program re-allocate the cash received. • Older people play a key role in supporting younger generations. • Social pensions have externalities beyond reducing recipient household poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal settlements are a widespread phenomenon in African cities. This study explores the development patterns of informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya, with a focus on the physical patterns, affordability of plots and rented rooms, and characteristics of developers. The results of the study were as follows: Spatial characteristics and conditions in informal settlements are not uniform. We identified squatter areas with iron‐sheet houses and narrow streets, planned areas with high‐rise buildings made of concrete blocks arranged in a perfect array, and intermediate conditions.Housing plot prices are unaffordable for most residents, while room rentals are generally fixed in accordance with the area and offer low‐income residents a wide range of choices.The owners of some structures reside in their own structure, and others are non‐residents who build and rent structures for profit. Therefore, informal settlements are not so much a place to live, but rather an attractive investment opportunity for structure owners or developers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community resilience has been used as a conceptual framework to promote urban refugee protection, integration, and well-being. In the context of this focus on "refugee communities," it is critical to gain a deeper understanding of the ways urban refugee "communities" function. This study explored urban Congolese refugees' use of social capital to promote resilience during a period of political violence in Nairobi, Kenya. Findings illustrate how refugees used social capital across different contexts to access and distribute resilience-promoting resources. Women primarily relied on informal bonding forms of capital while men exhibited greater degrees of access to formal bridging and linking networks. I argue for a conceptual shift from "community resilience" to "resilience within networked communities" in order to develop a more nuanced understanding pertaining to how urban-displaced refugees interact with various social networks to survive and thrive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Knowledge of antibiotic prescription practices in low- and middle-income countries is limited due to a lack of adequate surveillance systems. Objective: To assess the prescription of antibiotics for the treatment of acute respiratory tract infections (ARIs) in primary care. Method: An explanatory sequential mixed-methods study was conducted in 4 private not-for-profit outreach clinics located in slum areas in Nairobi, Kenya. Claims data of patients who received healthcare between April 1 and December 27, 2016 were collected in real-time through a mobile telephone-based healthcare data and payment exchange platform (branded as M-TIBA). These data were used to calculate the percentage of ARIs for which antibiotics were prescribed. In-depth interviews were conducted among 12 clinicians and 17 patients to explain the quantitative results. Results: A total of 49,098 individuals were registered onto the platform, which allowed them to access healthcare at the study clinics through M-TIBA. For 36,210 clinic visits by 21,913 patients, 45,706 diagnoses and 85,484 medication prescriptions were recorded. ARIs were the most common diagnoses (17,739; 38.8%), and antibiotics were the most frequently prescribed medications (21,870; 25.6%). For 78.5% (95% CI: 77.9%, 79.1%) of ARI diagnoses, antibiotics were prescribed, most commonly amoxicillin (45%; 95% CI: 44.1%, 45.8%). These relatively high levels of prescription were explained by high patient load, clinician and patient perceptions that clinicians should prescribe, lack of access to laboratory tests, offloading near-expiry drugs, absence of policy and surveillance, and the use of treatment guidelines that are not up-to-date. Clinicians in contrast reported to strictly follow the Kenyan treatment guidelines. Conclusion: This study showed successful quantification of antibiotic prescription and the prescribing pattern using real-world data collected through M-TIBA in private not-for-profit clinics in Nairobi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While access to safe sanitation is a global issue, there are large disparities in access. Women living in informal settlements, in particular, are disproportionately affected by lack of access to sanitation. Without adequate sanitation, these women may resort to unsafe strategies to manage their sanitation needs, but limited research has focused specifically on this issue. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from women in the Mathare informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya in 2016. A latent class analysis (LCA) using the quantitative data yielded five distinct sanitation profiles (SP) among women in Mathare. In-depth interviews and sanitation walks with women added further detail about the characteristics of and motivations underlying each profile. Women's sanitation profiles in these settlements are complex. A majority of women in this study utilized an unsafe method of disposal at least once in a 24-hour period that increased their risk of direct exposure to waste and harmful pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Naivasha thorn tree, Acacia xanthophloea, is grown for foliage, timber, shade and rehabilitation of soils in areas with high water tables in Kenya. Its production is threatened by insect pests, which cause major losses. Very little is documented on wood-boring beetles which cause considerable economic damage to lumber used in a variety of applications, and little is known about their natural enemies in Kenya. We conducted the study to evaluate the occurrence of wood-boring beetles on A. xanthophloea in two different regions of Kenya. Infested wood samples of A. xanthophloea with fresh exit holes were collected from three sites in Kenyatta University (KU), Nairobi and Mitaboni in Machakos, Kenya. The samples were placed in clear plastic buckets and kept at ambient temperatures 23±2°C, 65±10% relative humidity and 12L: 12D in a laboratory where they were observed daily for adult emergence. Adult beetles were collected every three days for identification and data recording. The experiment was replicated four times and data collected twice a week for 6 months. Data on abundance was subjected to analysis of variance using SAS software. A total of 5,850 and 4,691 beetles were collected where 2,187 and 3,097 were Bostrichidae, accounting for 37% and 66% in KU and Mitaboni, respectively. A total of 12 bostrichid species was identified, including Sinoxylon ruficorne, S. doliolum, Xylion adustus, Xyloperthodes nitidipennis, Xyloperthella picea, Xylopsocus castanoptera, Lyctus brunneus, Heterbostrychus brunneus, Xylopsocus sp., and Dinoderus gabonicus. The most abundant species in KU was Xylion adustus with 1,915 beetles accounting for 88.4%, and Sinoxylon ruficorne in Mitaboni with 1,050 beetles accounting for 33.9% of the total. Sinoxylon ruficorne was only recorded in Mitaboni while only 2 specimens of D. gabonicus were found in KU. The mean number of exit holes on A. xanthophloea differed significantly between sites, which corresponded approximately to the amount of economic damage caused by the beetles to the structural integrity of the lumber. In addition, a number of predators in the family Cerambycidae, Cleridae, Histeridae and parasitoids from Braconidae, Ichneumonidae, and Chalcididae were recovered, suggesting a need to conduct further studies to document these species' diversity, parasitism rates and efficacy for possible biological control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explains the disruption of 'joint action' in production clusters caused by informality based on the findings of semi-structured interviews with 102 participants in the handicraft industry of Nairobi, Kenya. In particular, three diseconomies of informality are examined which disrupt ongoing collective action efforts by firms in the industry: (1) the impact of pernicious informal competition; (2) the informal institutional context; and (3) forms of opportunistic social organisation. The literature has previously identified many of these problems, but more nuanced attention needs to be paid to causal relation- ships in informal economic production. This article explains how joint action breaks down production relationships and traces them through the associations to which the firms belong and concludes with a brief discussion of policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Much of the focus on population ageing has been in high-income counties. Relatively less attention is given to the world's poorest region, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where children and adolescents still comprise a high proportion of the population. Yet the number of adults aged 60-plus in SSA is already twice that in northern Europe. In addition, SSA is experiencing massive rural to urban migration with consequent expansion of informal urban settlements, or slums, whose health problems are usually unrecognised and not addressed. This study aims to improve understanding of functional health and well-being in older adult slum-dwellers in Nairobi (Kenya).Methods: The study sample comprised men and women, aged 50 years and over, living in Korogocho and Viwandani, Nairobi, Kenya (n = 1,878). Data from the International Network for the Demographic Evaluation of Populations and Their Health (INDEPTH) and the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE Wave 1) were analysed. The prevalence of poor self-reported quality of life (QoL) and difficulties in domain-specific function is estimated by age and sex. Logistic regression investigates associations between difficulties in the domains of function and poor QoL, adjusting for age, sex and socio-demographic factors. Statistical significance is set at P<0.05.Results: Women reported poorer QoL and greater functional difficulties than men in all domains except self-care. In the multivariable logistic regression the odds of poor QoL among respondents with problems or difficulties in relation to affect (OR = 7.0; 95%CI = 3.0-16.0), pain/discomfort (OR = 3.6; 95%CI = 2.3-5.8), cognition (OR = 1.8; 95 %CI = 1.2-2.9) and mobility (OR = 1.8; 95%CI = 1.1-2.8) were statistically significant.Conclusions: The findings underscore differences in the domains of functional health that encapsulate women and men's capacities to perform regular activities and the impact of poor functioning on QoL. Investing in the health and QoL of older people in SSA will be crucial in helping the region to realise key development goals and in opening opportunities for improved health outcomes and sustainable economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A jaundiced optimism has surfaced in the past few years for a number of cities across the African continent. There is optimism for the moment in cities from Dakar to Nairobi, Cairo to Cape Town, Marrakesh to Maputo, and many urban spaces in between, due to positive economic growth and emergence of relative political stability. The optimism is jaundiced from decades of experience with previous moments of optimism overrun by economic crises and political upheaval. This article will examine this mixed outlook on the future for cities in Africa through a case study of Nairobi, and in particular its Nairobi Metro 2030 vision plan for the city and its surrounding counties. Kenya’s efforts to reimagine Nairobi as a “world-class city-region” by 2030 include ambitious yet tangible outcomes that are beginning to come to fruition—massive improvements to infrastructure, total transformation of the governance structure, and significant and substantive investments in commercial, industrial, and residential real estate. At the same time, the vision has a wandering eye, which keeps drifting back to the caution palpable among Nairobi residents stemming from severe inequalities, criminal violence, and political rivalries. Based on fieldwork and interviews from 2012 and policy analysis from 2012 to 2014, I argue that the Nairobi case is emblematic of the ambivalent era for urban visions blossoming across urban Africa as we move toward 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Relatively little has been recorded about the relationships among ethnicity, corruption and conflict over urban land, especially at community level. The stories of land matters in four lower-income settlements in Nairobi, Kenya, drawn from extensive interviews with their occupants and officials and field observations, shed light on the roles of corruption and ethnicity in land conflicts and the character of violence involved. At the same time, they reveal new details of competition for urban land rights. In these cases, land conflict seemed to promote corruption and the use of ethnicity, while corruption and ethnicity were able to alter the relationship of this conflict to violence. There are findings here regarding sources of urban violence in general. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This is a study of the rapid urban growth of twentieth-century Nairobi and its influence on patterns of church attendance and Christian practice. The experience of Glasgow in the nineteenth century is used as a historical comparator to highlight and evaluate particular trends in Nairobi's more recent experience. Although the rapid urbanisation of the two cities was separated by over a century and occurred in very different national and historical contexts, both shared similar pathologies of environmental problems, urban deprivation and poverty. Simple correlations between types of urban environment and certain patterns of Christian practice are not easily drawn in the two cities, but such complexity is common to the two cities. This study suggests that the process of rapid urbanisation did shape religious practice in Nairobi, if not always in predictable or negative ways. It brought openness to new ideas and flexibility to modes of Christian expression, as was also observed in Glasgow a century before. The responses of churches to the very major challenges caused by large-scale movements of population and consequent social dislocation also betray similarities across geographical and historical contexts. Despite claims as to the secularising influence of the city, Christian practice may prove to have been at its most robust and authentically African in a city like Nairobi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because firearm injuries affect the health and social fabric of Kenya, we investigated the problem in collaboration with Kenya's affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. This public health problem has its roots in the civil strife and prevalence of small arms and light weapons in the Horn of Africa. We studied persons with firearm injuries who reached Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi during a 6-month period in 2006. We describe their demographic characteristics and speculate that many people injured with guns die before they reach the hospital. The people of Nairobi would benefit from better pre-hospital care, including ambulance transportation, and a public health insurance system to redistribute the burden of medical services.Journal of Public Health Policy (2007) 28, 410–419. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jphp.3200152 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on scholarly literature and fieldwork on the efficacy of music, musicians and organizations in promoting social change, this article explores ways in which organizations in Nairobi, Kenya, are drawing upon musicians and musics for education and development purposes. I examine: types of relationships formed between organizations and musicians; the reasons for and goals of these collaborations; how incorporating musicians might impact on the effectiveness of organizations; and the production of performance to encourage social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employed structured interviews with 307 people living with HIV (PLHIVs) in Nairobi, Kenya to investigate their serostatus disclosure with respect to four types of relationships in their lives: partners, friends, family members, and religious leaders/clergy. Regarding motivations for disclosure, it was found that a sense of duty and seeking material support motivated disclosure to family and partners, fear of loss of confidentiality inhibited disclosure to friends, and the need for advice encouraged disclosure to religious leaders. The method of disclosure most frequently mentioned was direct, with males less likely than females to use direct methods when disclosing to spouses or partners. Intermediated disclosure was common in partner/spouse relationships with around one-third of partners preferring to disclose through a third party. Methods used to disclose as well as reasons for doing so varied by relationship type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prevention of infant HIV is a powerful incentive for maternal HIV diagnosis and an opportunity to increase male HIV testing and disclosure of HIV status within couples. We examined male HIV disclosure in couples who attended a Nairobi antenatal clinic (ANC), had individual HIV testing, and were counselled to disclose to their partner. At two-week follow-up, men and women independently reported HIV disclosure. Of 2104 women, 1993 requested partner attendance; 313 male partners came, of whom 183 chose individual HIV testing. Of 106 couples who followed up, 93% of both partners reported disclosure by women versus 71% by men (P < 0.0001); 27% of men reported disclosure while their female partner reported not knowing partner HIV status. In these couples, male ANC HIV testing did not result in shared knowledge of HIV status. Couple counselling models that incorporate disclosure may yield greater HIV prevention benefits than offering individual partner HIV testing services at ANC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: We have previously demonstrated that assisted partner services (aPS) increases HIV testing and case finding among partners of persons living with HIV (PLHIV) in a cluster randomized trial in Kenya. However, the efficacy of aPS may vary across populations. In this analysis, we explore differences in aPS efficacy by characteristics of index participants. Methods: Eighteen HIV testing sites were randomized to immediate versus 6‐week delayed aPS. Participants were PLHIV (or index participants) and their sexual partners. Partners of index participants were contacted for HIV testing and linked to care if HIV positive. Primary outcomes were the number of partners per index participant who: 1) tested for HIV, 2) tested HIV positive and 3) enrolled in HIV care. We used generalized estimating equations to assess differences in aPS efficacy by region, testing location, gender, age and knowledge of HIV status. Results: From 2013 to 2015, the study enrolled 1119 index participants, 625 of whom were in the immediate group. These index participants named 1286 sexual partners. Immediate aPS was more efficacious than delayed aPS in promoting HIV testing among partners in high compared to low HIV prevalence regions (Nyanza incidence rate ratio (IRR) 7.2; 95% confidence interval (CI) 5.4, 9.6 vs. Nairobi/Central IRR 3.4 95% CI 2.3, 4.8). Higher rates of partner HIV testing were also observed for index participants in rural/peri‐urban compared to urban sites (IRR 6.6; 95% CI 4.5, 9.6 vs. IRR 3.5 95% CI 2.5, 5.0 respectively), for female versus male index participants (IRR 5.8 95% CI 4.2, 7.9 vs. IRR 3.7; 95% CI 2.4, 5.8 respectively) and for newly diagnosed versus known HIV‐positive index participants (IRR 6.0 95% CI 4.2, 8.7 vs. IRR 3.3; 95% CI 2.0, 7.7 respectively). Providing aPS to female versus male index participants also had a significantly higher HIV case finding rate (IRR 9.1; 95% CI 4.0, 20.9 vs. IRR 3.2 95% CI 1.7, 6.0 respectively.) Conclusions: While it is known that aPS promotes increases in HIV testing and case finding, this is the first study to demonstrate significant differences in aPS efficacy across characteristics of the index participant. Understanding these differences and their drivers will be critical as aPS is brought to scale in order to ensure all PLHIV have access to these services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]