Archive for August, 2008
UN-backed Forum Examines Role of ICT in Achieving the MDGs
23 August 2007 – Over 1,000 participants from 66 countries have gathered at the United Nations Centre in Addis Ababa to explore how the latest information and communication technology (ICT) can help countries overcome poverty and advance development.
“ICT for Development and Prosperity” is the theme for the three-day World Information Technology Forum which kicked off [...]
WHO & UNEP Join to Combat Environment-Related Disease in Africa
First African Inter-Ministerial Conference on Health and Environment
Brazzaville/Nairobi, 22 August 2008 – Diseases caused by environmental change are responsible for too many deaths in Africa.
In 2002 alone, unsafe water, pollution, poor sanitation, inadequate waste disposal, insufficient disease vector control and exposure to chemicals claimed about 2.4 million lives.
In a bid to address this challenge, [...]
High Levels of Stigma Persist in Kenya’s NEP
Photo: Neil Thomas/IRIN
Young women can’t talk about sex with their elders
IJARA, 21 August 2008 (PlusNews) – For the past ten months, health workers at Ijara District Hospital in Kenya’s North Eastern Province have been caring for two children, aged six and seven, who were abandoned by their father after he discovered he was HIV-positive. [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )KENYA: The Lure of Dodgy Herbal “cures” for HIV
Photo: Keishamaza Rukikaire/IRIN
Quacks posing as traditional herbalists have fooled many HIV-positive people
MOMBASA, 21 August 2008 (PlusNews) – People in Kenya’s Coast Province, believed not to be genuine herbalists, are selling concoctions purported to treat HIV and persuading many patients on life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to abandon their medication.
Omari Mwanjama, of the National AIDS [...]
Kenya’s Post Poll Violence: Africa’s Elders Seize a Leading Role
In January, one of Africa’s most stable democracies was violently ripping itself apart. How was it saved? In a four-part special report, the key players tell what happened.
By Scott Baldauf | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
NAIROBI, KENYA – Kenya’s peace talks have barely begun. But the atmosphere in the Orchid Room of [...]
Danger: The African Elephant Under Siege from Poachers!
Massacre of the giants: Once hunted to near extinction, Africa’s elephants slowly pulled back from the brink
…But the end of a ban on ivory slaves – backed by Britain – has launched a savage new bloodbath by ruthless poachers
By Sue Reid
Last updated at 10:54 PM on 15th August 2008
With the poisoned tip of a [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 11 so far )Food Reserves Set to Plummet in Central Province
Photo: Waweru Mugo/IRIN
Ruth Wangechi examines her failed maize crop in Thung’ari village, Nyeri
NYERI, 13 August 2008 (IRIN) – Poor rains and the presence of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Central Kenya, a traditionally food-secure region, have stretched available resources with government and humanitarian officials predicting a sharp drop in food reserves.
“This year has [...]
Boosting Biofuels Without Compromising Food Security
Photo: Julius Mwelu/IRIN
The Jatropha’s deceitfully luscious yellow fruit are poisonous; however, these glossy black seeds have an oil content of 37 percent
NAIROBI, 13 August 2008 (IRIN) – The oil-rich seed of a poisonous shrub that thrives in arid climates with poor soil lies at the heart of plans by Kenya to reduce its [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 5 so far )New Report Identifies Gender Inequality as a Barrier to Kenya’s Development
New Institute of Economic Affairs report identifies gender inequality as a barrier to Kenya’s development
The Institute of Economic Affairs’ (IEA) latest report on the socio-economic status of women in Kenya says women have made minimal strides in their quest to bridge the inequality gap. However, this state of affairs is not blamed solely on women [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Give Women Land Rights and Make Poverty History
The recent statement by the Minister for Lands, Hon. James Orengo that the National Land Policy is ready for cabinet deliberation and final approval is something that is overdue. But for the majority of Kenyan women who wallow in poverty and are destitute, the announcement has generated a lot of excitement as they have for [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Enforcement of the Sexual Offences Act in Kenya
INTRODUCTION
Is the criminal justice system in Kenya well equipped to protect women from gender-based violence? This a critical question because in July this year, the Sexual Offences Act (SOA) is celebrating two years of existence having came into force on 21 July 2006. It has been lauded as an evolutionally piece of legislation that provides [...]
What We Are Doing About Climate Change
Photo: UN Library
Years of poorly regulated emissions have made the earth warmer
JOHANNESBURG, 5 August 2008 (IRIN) – In developing countries, where survival is often a daily struggle, people cannot afford to wait for their government to bail them out. Many are living in the grip of climate change, coping with frequent droughts, heavy [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )NASA Data Show African Droughts Linked To Warmer Indian Ocean
A new study, co-funded by NASA, has identified a link between a warming Indian Ocean and less rainfall in eastern and southern Africa. Computer models and observations show a decline in rainfall, with implications for the region’s food security.
Rainfall in eastern Africa during the rainy season, which runs from March through May, has [...]
Dial M for Cash
Photo: Anne Ejakait/Concern Worldwide
Mobile phones are increasingly being used in delivering aid
NAIROBI, 4 August 2008 (IRIN) – Hard-pressed to find efficient ways of delivering aid, humanitarian agencies are turning to new technologies.
One such innovation involves mobile phones to send cash. One such project was piloted in Baringo North and Pokot East Districts of [...]
Breast is Best, Even for Mothers with HIV
Photo: Julius Mwelu/IRIN
The WHO recommends breastfeeding for the first six months of a child’s life
NAIROBI, 4 August 2008 (PlusNews) – The risk of an HIV-positive mother infecting her child through breastfeeding can be significantly reduced by antiretroviral treatment (ART), say health officials in Kenya.
“HIV-positive mothers on ART lower the risk of transmission through [...]
