Farmers' preferences for rice bean production traits in western Kenya.

Rice bean () is an important legume for food and nutritional security. However, the level of its cultivation in western Kenya, where there is a serious malnutrition challenge, is still low due to a lack of insights into its attributes. Hence, to bridge this knowledge gap, this study analyzed smallholder farmers' preferences for production traits.

Effect of using a mobile phone on technical efficiency and productivity of climate-smart horticulture farmers in Taita-Taveta county, Kenya.

Horticulture is highly affected by climate variability. Various measures including climate-smart horticulture (CSH) practices are applied by farmers to curb the severity of climate change. Some farmers use mobile phones to access information and enhance their knowledge and skills related to CSH.

Understanding farmers' perceptions on advisory services in Tanzania: Comparative insights from principal component analysis and Q-methodology.

Agricultural advisory services help farmers to access farming skills, technologies and agricultural markets. The services are offered by different actors, who all together form the pluralistic advisory service providers. In recent years, pluralistic advisory service providers have emerged in various developing countries including Tanzania.

Assessment of consumers' preference for orange-fleshed sweet potato puree chapati: a case of rural and urban consumers in Kenya.

Background: Orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) is bio-fortified with vitamin A precursors through breeding and is thus ideal for combating vitamin A deficiency (VAD). One of the potential mechanisms to promote the consumption of OFSP is to enhance its availability through processing into products with a longer shelf life and more desirable to consumers. However, very few farmers and agro-processors practice value addition due to market uncertainties; there is little information on market availability for OFSP products.

Targeting market segment needs with public-good crop breeding investments: A case study with potato and sweetpotato focused on poverty alleviation, nutrition and gender.

Crop breeding programs have often focused on the release of new varieties that target yield improvement to achieve food security and reduce poverty. While continued investments in this objective are justified, there is a need for breeding programs to be increasingly more demand-driven and responsive to the changing customer preferences and population dynamics. This paper analyses the responsiveness of global potato and sweetpotato breeding programs pursued by the International Potato Center (CIP) and its partners to three major development indicators: poverty, malnutrition and gender.

Using preschoolers to improve caregivers' knowledge, attitude, and practices relating to biofortified crops: Evidence from a randomized nutrition education trial in Kenya.

This 2018 randomized controlled trial examined the role behavioral nudges can play in improving caregivers' knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) relating to biofortified orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP). The experiment involved 431 preschooler-caregiver pairs in 15 villages. The preschoolers were enrolled in public-run Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) centers in the respective villages.

The Role of Targeted Nutrition Education of Preschoolers and Caregivers on Sustained Consumption of Biofortified Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato in Kenya.

Background: Persistent prevalence of high malnutrition in poor households in developing countries calls for enhancement of cost-effective nutrition interventions among the vulnerable groups. One responsive way is to promote regular consumption of home-grown biofortified foods, particularly in the micronutrient-deficient groups. Previous nutrition interventions have targeted adults with behavior change education, but have rarely explored the potential of nutrition education of preschoolers as change agents.

Do Nutrition Education Approaches With Preschoolers and Their Caregivers Influence Retention of Biofortified Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato on Farms? Evidence From Homa Bay County, Kenya.

Background: Biofortified staples have been promoted widely in sub-Saharan Africa to combat micronutrient deficiencies. Contemporary projects are increasingly using elementary schools to target households with these foods.

Objective: This study assessed the effects of integrated nutrition education approaches, targeting preschoolers and their caregivers, on retention of orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) on farms in the second season after lapse of free vine dissemination initiatives.

The contribution of extensive chicken production systems and practices to Newcastle disease outbreaks in Kenya.

Newcastle disease (ND) poses a challenge especially for farmers rearing indigenous chicken under the extensive system. This is due to the lack of uniformity in practices, favoring the introduction and spread of the disease. This is worsened by the lack of information on how management practices contribute to the spread of ND.

Technical efficiency and technology gaps of sorghum plots in Uganda: A gendered stochastic metafrontier analysis.

Sorghum plot managers in different locations have varying levels of resource endowment that in turn influence technical efficiency (TE). Therefore, plot managers operate at different levels of technology. The present study applied a stochastic metafrontier approach to assess TE and technology gaps of female, male and jointly-managed sorghum plots.

Assessment of local stakeholders' preferences for foreign land lease design attributes in Kenya: A participatory choice-based survey approach.

Global land acquisition and lease investments in developing countries by foreign companies have elicited a lot of controversy and interest in recent literature. Well-structured foreign land leases and investments might offer development benefits to the host countries including opportunities for employment, provision of capital for improvement of infrastructure and stabilization of food prices. However, most foreign land lease deals in Africa are often characterized by secret negotiations and lack of local stakeholder consultations.

Sequelae and Other Conditions in Ebola Virus Disease Survivors, Sierra Leone, 2015.

We rapidly assessed the health of Ebola virus disease (EVD) survivors in Kenema, Sierra Leone, by reviewing medical charts of all patients attending the Survivor Clinic of Kenema Government Hospital. Data were abstracted on signs and symptoms at every attendance. As of November 2015, a total of 621 attendances by 115 survivors with laboratory-confirmed EVD were made to the Survivor Clinic.

Malnutrition and Childhood Disability in Turkana, Kenya: Results from a Case-Control Study.

Background: Children with disabilities may be particularly vulnerable to malnutrition, as a result of exclusions and feeding difficulties. However, there is limited evidence currently available on this subject.

Methods: A population-based case-control study was conducted in Turkana County, Kenya, between July and August 2013.

Community case management of malaria: a pro-poor intervention in rural Kenya.

Background: Access to prompt and effective treatment of malaria is a fundamental right of all populations at risk; many countries have not met the target of 60% of children treated with effective antimalarial drugs within 24 h of fever onset. While community case management of malaria is effective for increasing coverage, evidence is mixed on whether it improves equity. The objective of this study was to assess whether a community case management of a malaria programme delivered by community health workers (CHW) in two districts of Kenya improved access and equity.

Factors associated with utilization of community health workers in improving access to malaria treatment among children in Kenya.

Background: The success of community case management in improving access to effective malaria treatment for young children relies on broad utilization of community health workers (CHWs) to diagnose and treat fever cases. A better understanding of the factors associated with CHW utilization is crucial in informing national malaria control policy and strategy in Kenya. Specifically, little is known in Kenya on the extent to which CHWs are utilized, the characteristics of families who report utilizing CHWs and whether utilization is associated with improved access to prompt and effective malaria treatment.

Laparoscopic Trachelectomy for Cervical Stump 'Carcinoma in situ'.

A 43-year-old, who underwent a subtotal hysterectomy for postpartum hemorrhage following a normal delivery, 10 years ago, presented with a history of persistent vaginal discharge and post-coital bleeding. A pap smear reported moderate dysplasia, and a subsequent colposcopic biopsy reported severe dysplasia with crypt extension. The patient underwent a laparoscopic trachelectomy, and histology of the stump reported cervical squamous carcinoma in situ, with no microinvasion.