Day: September 13, 2024

Bio-Bank UK reports a rise in dementia cases, primarily among blacks and African-Americans, highlighting the need for further research on these groups.

The findings were disclosed during a two-day inaugural conference on brain health and dementia in Africa held in Nairobi, aimed at offering prevention, treatment and providing hope to those affected by dementia in Africa.

Chi Udeh-Momoh, a neuroscientist at the Brain and Mind Institute at the Aga Khan University, spoke on dementia prevention and the innovative approach of the African-Fingers program.

She explained that the African-Fingers program is a multinational collaboration of dementia experts, aimed at assessing the feasibility and sustainability of multimodal brain health strategies and interventions in the Africa region.

‘What is striking is the absolute lack of adequate dementia research despite the increase in its cases,’ she said.

Chi added that according to the finger model, some of the causes of dementia include nutrition, exercise, cognitiv
e, social activity and metabolic factors.

According to the research done by Neuro-epidemiology in Africa, the estimated frequency is 9.4% with positive dementia screens predicted by mainly poor quality of life and loneliness.

However, multi-domain approaches, targeting multiple risk factors and tailored at individual and population level, can be effective and feasible for dementia risk reduction.

‘There is so much work on dementia but little work on services. We need to start intentionally thinking of how to train the future dementia professions,’ said Akin Ojagbemi, Wellcome Trust International Intermediate Fellow at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

He spoke on dementia care services where non-specialist workers who are already in primary health care centers could be valuable untapped resources since they are trained to identify and manage mental health conditions in the elderly.

He emphasized on harnessing non-specialist human resources through ‘task-sharing’.

According to research done by the World
Health Organization, focusing on Sub-Saharan African, some of the challenges facing dementia control include low availability of multi-disciplinary professionals, unequal distribution of few available professionals in tertiary hospitals and the difficulty in recruiting multi-culturally competent dementia care professionals.

From Sustainable Development Goal number 3, Good-health and Well-Being, by 2030, premature mortality from communicable diseases is expected to reduce by a third in sub-Saharan Africa.

Meanwhile, individuals are tasked to take the necessary precautions in the fight against dementia for a better future.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Thika Level Five Hospital is set to offer chemotherapy services after acquiring a chemotherapy biosafety cabinet, an essential piece of equipment for the safe preparation of cancer treatment medications.

The biosafety cabinet now available at the diagnostic wing of the cancer center will safeguard both healthcare workers and the environment from hazardous chemotherapy drugs as its advanced containment system effectively minimizes the risk of exposure to toxic substances.

Speaking at the facility, Dr. Patrick Nyaga, the hospital superintendent, highlighted that the new machine would significantly enhance the quality of cancer care at the level 5 hospital, emphasizing that the advancement would also minimize the need for patients to travel long distances for chemotherapy services, thereby making cancer treatment more accessible and convenient for the residents of Kiambu and the surrounding counties.

‘We are experiencing a rise in cancer cases in Thika and the surrounding areas. Unfortunately, many individua
ls are unaware of their condition, and those who do seek screening often do so too late. With the introduction of this new machine, we now have the opportunity to save numerous lives through timely treatment, eliminating the need to refer patients to Nairobi or even to India for care.

The chemotherapy machine will also ensure the sterility of the medication, improving both the safety and effectiveness of treatments provided to cancer patients,’ he said.

Dr. Nyaga called on the government to allocate additional funds to enhance and equip the screening facility, aiming to improve service delivery for the residents of Thika. This initiative seeks to combat the spread of the deadly disease, which also has significant economic repercussions for those affected.

‘I urge all residents of the county to take advantage of this facility and participate in regular screenings for breast, cervical, and prostate cancers. Early detection through routine screenings allows medical professionals to identify these diseases at
an early stage and implement a treatment plan promptly, preventing the disease from advancing to life-threatening levels,’ he stated.

Cancer has emerged as a significant public health challenge in Kenya and throughout Africa. According to the latest data from the World Health Organization, Kenya reported 44,726 new cancer cases and 29,317 cancer-related deaths in 2022. Currently, approximately 82,000 individuals in Kenya are living with the disease.

According to the Ministry of Health, the five most prevalent cancers are breast, cervical, prostate, esophageal, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Together, these types of cancer contribute to nearly 48% of the overall cancer burden in the country.

Six counties from the Mt Kenya region rank among the ten devolved units with the highest number of cases in the country. These include Nyeri, Murang’a, Kirinyaga, and Embu, along with Kiambu, Meru, and Nyandarua, which also feature in the top ten.

The government, through the Ministry of Health, has prioritized cancer diag
nosis, care, and treatment making it more affordable for families.

Meanwhile, with the establishment of the Social Health Authority (SHA), Kenyans can look forward to even greater relief from the financial burden of cancer care, as the scheme will cover the high costs associated with cancer treatment for everyone.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Government of Kenya and her partners have stepped up efforts to completely eradicate the practice of open defaecation in the country by the end of 2025.

They said about 5 million Kenyans still practice open defaecation, 85 percent of whom are domiciled in 15 counties, and that strategies had been put in place to have them declared open defaecation free (ODF) by the end of 2025.

This, they said, was being done through the Kenya Sanitation Alliance (KSA), which was launched in 2021 with the aim of eliminating open defaecation in Kenya by 2025 through a combination of policy interventions, community engagement and infrastructure development.

The 15 counties identified as having the highest rates of open defaecation are Baringo, Garissa, Homabay, Isiolo, Kajiado, Kilifi, Kwale, Mandera, Marsabit, Narok, Samburu, Tana River, Turkana, Wajir and West Pokot.

Senior health officials from the 15 high burden counties led by their County Health Executives and officials Ministry of Water and Sanitation and develo
pment partners UNICEF, USAID and AMREF among others, congregated at a Malindi hotel under the auspices of KSA to deliberating on the how to eradicate the vice.

Mr. Daniel Kurao from Amref Health Africa in Kenya said many partners had come together under the Kenya Sanitation Alliance to eradicate the sanitation burden in the 15 counties where 85 percent of the ten percent of Kenyans practicing open defaecation come from.

‘We come together because we see a burden that in Kenya, ten percent of those that are doing open defaecation, is a big number, about 5 million out of which 85 percent are in these 15 counties,’ he said noting the ODF is the major cause of diarrhoeal diseases.

‘This is the major problem that we see in very young children appearing through diarrhoea; it is a problem in terms of stunting among young children; it is a problem also in schools, and we come today because addressing sanitation the Republic of Kenya allows us to improve educational and health outcomes as well as economic performanc
e.

He said the Kenya Sanitation Alliance had had great progress, noting that from 2021the alliance had been able to declare close to 5,000 Kenyan villages open defaecation free, with a target of achieving 100m percent by the end of 2025.

‘This is a drive that we are asking Kenyans to address sanitation and hygiene in our communities, in our schools, in our institutions since it is a responsibility of everybody right from the household to the institutions and all of us.

Mr. Kurao said county governments in the 15 high burden counties had committed close to Sh172 million towards sanitation.

Ms Beverly Mademba from the United States Agency for International Development (USIAD) Kenya said her organization had put close to 100 million US Dollars into Water, Sanitation and Health (WASH) investments spread across different projects including the Kenya Sanitation Enabling Environment Project (K-SEEP).

Kilifi Deputy Governor Florah Chibule said through the Kenya Sanitation Alliance, three out of the county’s seve
n sub counties had been declared open defaecation free and that efforts were being made to completely eradicate open defaecation in the remaining four.

She said sensitization programmes were in top gear to ensure no village in the county is left behind in terms of building toilets and pit latrines in order to eradicate communicable diseases by concentrating on preventing rather than curative healthcare.

The County Executive Committee Member in charge of Health and Sanitation, Mr. Peter Mwarogo, said the implementation of two World Bank-funded multi-million-shilling sludge recycling projects in Sabaki and Mayungu areas of Malindi town were at advanced stages and would greatly improve sanitation in the tourist resort town when complete.

Kwale Health DECM Dr. Francis Gwama and his Tana River counterpart Joshua Jarha said although their counties were still lagging behind in sanitation expressed confidence that through the sensitization carried out by the Kenya Sanitation Alliance, they would achieve ODF by the
end of 2025.

Jarha said efforts to achieve the feat had however had been frustrated by frequent flooding which usually wash away toilets, leading to cholera outbreaks.

Source: Kenya News Agency