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Kenya Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change Data Sheet 2023

Improving clean water provision and nutrition through drought anticipation measures in Kenya

Improving clean water provision and nutrition through drought anticipation measures in Kenya

Next generation chlorine dispensers for safe water, delivering a climate-health solution at scale

CARBOMICA: a carbon mitigation and resource allocation modelling tool for the healthcare sector in East Africa

Human Climate Horizons (HCH)

Indigenous knowledge of Rift Valley Fever among Somali nomadic pastoralists and its implications on public health delivery approaches in Ijara sub-County, North Eastern Kenya

Rift Valley Fever (RVF) is a zoonotic disease whose outbreak results in heavy economic and public health burdens. In East Africa, RVF is mainly experienced in arid and semi-arid areas predominantly inhabited by the pastoralists. These areas experience sudden, dramatic epidemics of the disease at intervals of approximately 10 years, associated with widespread flooding and the resultant swarms of mosquitoes. Pastoralists’ indigenous knowledge and experience of RVF is critical for public health interventions targeting prevention and control of RVF. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional design combining both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. A total of 204 respondents participated in questionnaire survey and 15 key informants and 4 focus group discussions were interviewed and conducted respectively. In addition, secondary data mainly journal publications, books, policy documents and research reports from conferences and government departments were reviewed. Findings indicated that the Somali pastoralists possess immense knowledge of RVF including signs and symptoms, risk factors, and risk pathways associated with RVF. Ninety eight percent (98%) of respondents identified signs and symptoms such as bloody nose, diarrhea, foul smell and discharge of blood from the orifices which are consistent with RVF. Heavy rains and floods (85%) and sudden emergence of mosquito swarms (91%) were also cited as the major RVF risk factors while mosquito bites (85%), drinking raw milk and blood (78%) and contact with animal fluids during mobility, slaughter and obstetric procedures (77%) were mentioned as the RVF entry risk pathways. Despite this immense knowledge, the study found that the pastoralists did not translate the knowledge into safer health practices because of the deep-seated socio-cultural practices associated with pastoralist production system and religious beliefs. On top of these practices, food preparation and consumption practices such as drinking raw blood and milk and animal ritual sacrifices continue to account for most of the mortality and morbidity cases experienced in humans and animals during RVF outbreaks. This article concludes that pastoralists’ indigenous knowledge on RVF has implications on public health delivery approaches. Since the pastoralists’ knowledge on RVF was definitive, integrating the community into early warning systems through training on reporting mechanisms and empowering the nomads to use their mobile phone devices to report observable changes in their livestock and environment could prove very effective in providing information for timely mobilization of public health responses. Public health advocacy based on targeted and contextually appropriate health messaging and disseminated through popular communication channels in the community such as the religious leaders and local radio stations would also be needed to reverse the drivers of RVF occurrence in the study area.

Impact of recent climate extremes on mosquito-borne disease transmission in Kenya

Climate change and variability influence temperature and rainfall, which impact vector abundance and the dynamics of vector-borne disease transmission. Climate change is projected to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme climate events. Mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue fever, are primarily transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Freshwater availability and temperature affect dengue vector populations via a variety of biological processes and thus influence the ability of mosquitoes to effectively transmit disease. However, the effect of droughts, floods, heat waves, and cold waves is not well understood. Using vector, climate, and dengue disease data collected between 2013 and 2019 in Kenya, this retrospective cohort study aims to elucidate the impact of extreme rainfall and temperature on mosquito abundance and the risk of arboviral infections. To define extreme periods of rainfall and land surface temperature (LST), we calculated monthly anomalies as deviations from long-term means (1983-2019 for rainfall, 2000-2019 for LST) across four study locations in Kenya. We classified extreme climate events as the upper and lower 10% of these calculated LST or rainfall deviations. Monthly Ae. aegypti abundance was recorded in Kenya using four trapping methods. Blood samples were also collected from children with febrile illness presenting to four field sites and tested for dengue virus using an IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We found that mosquito eggs and adults were significantly more abundant one month following an abnormally wet month. The relationship between mosquito abundance and dengue risk follows a non-linear association. Our findings suggest that early warnings and targeted interventions during periods of abnormal rainfall and temperature, especially flooding, can potentially contribute to reductions in risk of viral transmission.

Harmful algal blooms threaten the health of peri-urban fisher communities: A case study in Kisumu Bay, Lake Victoria, Kenya

Available guidance to mitigate health risks from exposure to freshwater harmful algal blooms (HABs) is largely derived from temperate ecosystems. Yet in tropical ecosystems, HABs can occur year-round, and resource-dependent populations face multiple routes of exposure to toxic components. Along Winam Gulf, Lake Victoria, Kenya, fisher communities rely on lake water contaminated with microcystins (MCs) from HABs. In these peri-urban communities near Kisumu, we tested hypotheses that MCs exceed exposure guidelines across seasons, and persistent HABs present a chronic risk to fisher communities through ingestion with minimal water treatment and frequent, direct contact. We tested source waters at eleven communities across dry and rainy seasons from September 2015 through May 2016. We measured MCs, other metabolites, physicochemical parameters, chlorophyll a, phytoplankton abundance and diversity, and fecal indicators. We then selected four communities for interviews about water sources, usage, and treatment. Greater than 30% of source water samples exceeded WHO drinking water guidelines for MCs (1?g/L), and over 60% of source water samples exceeded USEPA guidelines for children and immunocompromised individuals. 50% of households reported sole use of raw lake water for drinking and household use, with alternate sources including rain and boreholes. Household chlorination was the most widespread treatment utilized. At this tropical, eutrophic lake, HABs pose a year-round health risk for fisher communities in resource -limited settings. Community-based solutions and site-specific guidance for Kisumu Bay and similarly impacted regions is needed to address a chronic health exposure likely to increase in severity and duration with global climate change.

Health and Climate Change Urban Profiles: Kisumu county

KMD Maproom

One Health stakeholder and institutional analysis in Kenya

Improving malaria evaluation and planning with enhanced climate services in East Africa

Healthy Futures Atlas: A publicly available resource for evaluating climate change risks on water-related and vector-borne disease in eastern Africa

Working with communities in East Africa to manage diarrhoeal disease and dengue risk in a changing climate

Time series non-Gaussian Bayesian bivariate model applied to data on HMPV and RSV: A case of Dadaab in Kenya

Predicting the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on malaria in coastal Kenya

Malaria smear positivity among Kenyan children peaks at intermediate temperatures as predicted by ecological models

In pursuit of livelihood sustainability and drought resilience: The human dimension of drought-adaptation in the Maasai pastoralists coupled socio-ecological systems across Kajiado County, Kenya

Household air pollution mitigation with integrated biomass/cookstove strategies in Western Kenya

Health vulnerability to flood-induced risks of households in flood-prone informal settlements in the coastal city of Mombasa, Kenya

Gender, social capital and adaptive capacity to climate variability: A case of pastoralists in arid and semi-arid regions in Kenya

Entomological assessment of dengue virus transmission risk in three urban areas of Kenya

Differences of rainfall-malaria associations in lowland and highland in Western Kenya

Characterizing the spatial determinants and prevention of malaria in Kenya

The consequences of relocating in response to drought: Human mobility and conflict in contemporary Kenya

Sensitivity of vegetation to climate variability and its implications for malaria risk in Baringo, Kenya

Mapping potential Anopheles gambiae s.l. larval distribution using remotely sensed climatic and environmental variables in Baringo, Kenya

Health risk perceptions and local knowledge of water-related infectious disease exposure among Kenyan wetland communities

Climate, birth weight, and agricultural livelihoods in Kenya and Mali

Cattle and rainfall affect tick abundance in central Kenya

Assessing impacts of seasonal climate variability on maize yield in Kenya

A political economy analysis of decision-making on natural disaster preparedness in Kenya

Weather extremes and household welfare in rural Kenya

Using remote sensing environmental data to forecast malaria incidence at a rural district hospital in Western Kenya

Temporal genetic differentiation in Glossina pallidipes tsetse fly populations in Kenya

Temporal variation in confirmed diagnosis of fever-related malarial cases among children under-5 years by community health workers and in health facilities between years 2013 and 2015 in Siaya County, Kenya

Interacting effects of land use and climate on rodent-borne pathogens in central Kenya

Effects of flood irrigation on the risk of selected zoonotic pathogens in an arid and semi-arid area in the eastern Kenya

Effects of irrigation and rainfall on the population dynamics of Rift Valley fever and other arbovirus mosquito vectors in the epidemic-prone Tana River County, Kenya

Effect of climatic variability on malaria trends in Baringo County, Kenya

Effect of climate on incidence of respiratory syncytial virus infections in a refugee camp in Kenya: A non-Gaussian time-series analysis

Distribution and abundance of key vectors of Rift Valley fever and other arboviruses in two ecologically distinct counties in Kenya

Development agents and their role in cushioning the pastoralists of Isiolo Central Sub-County, Kenya, against negative effects of climate variability

Remotely sensed environmental conditions and Malaria mortality in three Malaria endemic regions in Western Kenya

Lay knowledge and management of malaria in Baringo county, Kenya

Influenza activity in Kenya, 2007-2013: Timing, association with climatic factors, and implications for vaccination campaigns

Household’s socio-economic factors influencing the level of adaptation to climate variability in the dry zones of Eastern Kenya

Forecasting paediatric malaria admissions on the Kenya Coast using rainfall

Effects of drought on child health in Marsabit District, Northern Kenya

Effects of regional climate variability on the prevalence of diseases and their economic impacts on households in the Lake Victoria basin of Western Kenya

Ecological niche modelling of Rift Valley fever virus vectors in Baringo, Kenya

Dynamic risk model for Rift Valley fever outbreaks in Kenya based on climate and disease outbreak data

Determinants of climate change awareness level in upper Nyakach Division, Kisumu County, Kenya

Use of prospective hospital surveillance data to define spatiotemporal heterogeneity of malaria risk in coastal Kenya

The association of weather variability and under five malaria mortality in KEMRI/CDC HDSS in Western Kenya 2003 to 2008: A time series analysis

Temperature variation and heat wave and cold spell impacts on years of life lost among the urban poor population of Nairobi, Kenya

Rainfall variability and violence in rural Kenya: Investigating the effects of drought and the role of local institutions with survey data

Drought adaptation and coping strategies among the Turkana pastoralists of northern Kenya

Vector competence of Aedes aegypti populations from Kilifi and Nairobi for dengue 2 virus and the influence of temperature

Occurrence of rift valley fever in cattle in Ijara district, Kenya

Identifying secure and low carbon food production practices: A case study in Kenya and Ethiopia

Farmer portfolios, strategic diversity management and climate-change adaptation – implications for policy in Vietnam and Kenya

Adapting agriculture to climate change in Kenya: Household strategies and determinants

Time-series analysis of weather and mortality patterns in Nairobi’s informal settlements

Regime shifts and heterogeneous trends in malaria time series from Western Kenya Highlands

Climate change and risk projection: Dynamic spatial models of Tsetse and African Trypanosomiasis in Kenya

Vulnerability and adaptation to food insecurity and poverty in Kenya

Surveillance of vector populations and malaria transmission during the 2009/10 El Nino event in the western Kenya highlands: Opportunities for early detection of malaria hyper-transmission

Impact of drought on the spatial pattern of transmission of Schistosoma haematobium in coastal Kenya

The Indian Ocean Dipole and malaria risk in the highlands of western Kenya

Climate change impact on SWAT simulated streamflow in western Kenya

Changing household responses to drought in Tharaka, Kenya: Vulnerability, persistence and challenge

Malaria mosquito control using edible fish in western Kenya: Preliminary findings of a controlled study

How is climate change perceived in relation to other socioeconomic and environmental threats in Nairobi, Kenya?

Astronomically forced climate change in the Kenyan Rift Valley 2.7-2.55 Ma: Implications for the evolution of early hominin ecosystems

Kenya: Health and Climate Change Country Profile