Research Publications

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

Non Communicable Diseases -The Elephant in the Room
(Research Journal of Food and Nutrition, 2018) Asiko, Lydia; Wairegi, Susan; Waswa, Judith
Non Communicable Diseases including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer have been listed as the leading causes of death worldwide; they hamper development hence undermining the attainment development goals. Furthermore, they exacerbate social inequality. It is estimated that more than 60% of all deaths worldwide are caused by Non Communicable Diseases. NCDs had been perceived as diseases of the affluent, however, the prevalence in developing countries has increased over the years. In 2008 it was reported that four out of five NCD deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries, an increase from what was reported earlier. According to a WHO report, NCD mortality rates in Africa are rising faster than anywhere else in the world. This paper reviews the causes, consequences and prevention strategies of NCDs. The burden of NCDs in developing countries is driven by the negative effects of globalization, for example, unfair trade and irresponsible marketing, rapid and unplanned urbanization and increasingly sedentary lives. People in developing countries eat foods with higher levels of total energy. Increasing NCD levels are influenced by many factors including tobacco use and availability, consumption of foods high in salt, fat and sugar. A considerable proportion of global marketing targets children and adolescents as well as women in developing countries to promote tobacco smoking and consumption of ‘junk’ food and alcohol. Developing countries also experience rapid and unplanned urbanization which changes people’s way of living through more exposure to the shared risk factors. NCDs are exacerbated in urban areas by changes in diet and physical activity, exposure to air pollutants (including tobacco smoke) and harmful use of alcohol. NCDs are preventable and we need to talk about them everywhere and every time to help avert the menace. Lifestyle change is the panacea to NCD prevention and Management. Cessation of smoking, healthy diets and exercise are listed as some of the important strategies. Early this year the government of Rwanda declared a car free day as part of a campaign strategy for prevention of NCD. Governments must take up the elephant by its horns and sensitize people in addition to enacting legislative laws with an aim of preventing and managing the diseases. Control of these diseases will be a major milestone in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG
Nepad from below: Towards Intra-country Peer Review Mechanism (iprm) in Kenya
(Elixir, 2012-01) Mwenzwa, Ezekiel
Kenya is administratively divided into forty-seven (47) counties each of which shall be under the stewardship of a County Governor once the new constitution is finally implemented. These officers shall be tasked with the coordination of governance and development in the respective administrative areas. Like specific country Heads of State in the case of New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), County Governors shall be regarded as peers and hence accountable to both the government and the local community for any development activities. In the NEPAD development thinking, specific countries are required to undertake in-house reviews of their development policies and performance in governance, human rights and social service provision among others. The resultant data are presented to other African Heads of State and Government for peer review and the particular Head of State/Government made to answer for any development shortcomings. Similarly, to improve governance and accountability of leaders in areas under their purview, County Governors in Kenya could be subjected to the same peer review, hence NEPAD from below. This paper examines the APRM philosophy as a development archetype and argues for its intra-country domestication in Kenya focusing on the County
Augmenting proletariat governance: lenses on chapter eleven of the constitution of Kenya, 2010
(Elixir, 2012-06) Mwenzwa, Ezekiel
Since independence, the governance of development in Kenya has for the most part been centralised under the armpit of government officials. As such devolution is vaguely understood especially by grassroots leaders and communities. Consequently, central government officials have continued to determine the path of development at the grassroots especially so since they also control financial resources through the district treasury. However, the government has recognized this top-down development archetype as a major bottleneck to welfare and has been implementing policies to bring on board the beneficiaries. One major attempt was the District Focus for Rural Development Strategy of the early 1980s, which made the district the local level planning and development coordination and implementation unit. This policy faced several challenges which necessitated more focused strategies to move decision-making powers from the center to margin. The early years of the 21st century marked increased resource devolution and decentralized decision-making to the grassroots including Constituencies Development Fund, recruitment of some cadre of staff, management of health facilities and water resources among others. The Constitution of Kenya endorsed by about 70% of votes cast during the August 4th 2010 Referendum and subsequently promulgated by the president on August 27th 2010 is yet another devolution stab to enhance development and governance at the grassroots. This paper highlights the devolution proposals and the envisaged benefits to grassroots communities in Chapter Eleven of the Constitution of Kenya.

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