Caroline Mwatha. Sharon Otieno. Mercy Keino. Fiona Kasuya. Mary Wambui. Beryl Adhiambo. These are some of the women we have lost to Kenya's femicide crisis, wither due to their work, or men in their lives. This week, we’re joined by Rachael Mwikali, the convenor of the Coalition for Grassroots Human Rights Defenders to discuss the work of human rights defenders in Kenya, with a focus on women, as well as Kenya’s femicide crisis.
Resources
Hounded to the point of exile, human rights activists now appreciated
KNCHR And Human Rights Defenders Work (HRD’s)
Defend Defenders: Kenya Country Profile
Body of missing Dandora activist Caroline Mwatha found at City Mortuary
Haki Africa demands quick probe on missing activist Caroline Mwatha
Police on the spot over missing Dandora activist
Police link Caroline Mwathe's death to 'botched abortion'
Five horrific cases of domestic violence against women in Kenya in the past three months
Man stabs girlfriend to death, attempts suicide
Rongai woman dies after husband tortures, sets her ablaze
Lucy Njambi's killers forced her to swallow acid
Former city MCA plotted attack on slain wife, court told
Man brutally kills wife, stuffs body parts into a drum
Man accused of beating wife to death in Kahawa Sukari, Nairobi
Migori man kills sister-in-law over his wife's alleged cheating
Prevalence Data on Different Forms of Violence against Women
Episode 5: Why Do We Hate Our Women?
Episode 56: Women's Lives Matter
Episode 68: Women and the 2017 Elections
In Kenya, according to the 2018 Economic Survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), diseases of the respiratory system are the leading cause of morbidity, followed by malaria. They accounted for 34% of all incidences in 2017, compared to malaria’s 18.7%. Kenya experiences 19,112 deaths annually because of air pollution, and of these, 6,672 are children. These are diseases such as pneumonia, tuberculosis and lung cancer, among others.
The 2017 survey estimated that 19.9 million Kenyans suffer from respiratory ailments that are exacerbated by poor air quality. We're joined by Dr. Kanyiva Muindi of the Africa Population Health Research Centre (APHRC) to talk about air quality in Kenya at large, and Nairobi in particular. Press play!
Resources
Economic Survey 2018 - Kenya National Bureau of Statistics
Air Quality Regulations (2014)
Environmental Management and Coordination Act (1999)
(Amended) Environmental Management and Coordination Act (2015)
Air Pollution in Nairobi Slums: Sources, Levels and Lay Perceptions
Invisible and ignored: air pollution inside the homes of Nairobi’s residents
There is no escape: Nairobi's air pollution sparks Africa health warning
EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE: Who is monitoring air quality in Kenya?
Why Nairobi’s air pollution is deadly
Nairobi Air Quality Monitoring Sensor Network Report - April 2017
The Air Pollution in Nairobi, Kenya
Measuring Nairobi’s air quality using locally assembled low-cost sensors
WHO Guidelines for indoor air quality - household fuel combustion (2014)
WHO Guidelines for indoor air quality - selected pollutants (2010)
9 out of 10 people worldwide breathe polluted air, but more countries are taking action
Kenya is flagged as a source, transit, and destination country for persons subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking in East Africa by the Trafficking in Persons Report of 2018. We continue to host illegal recruiters who maintain networks in Uganda and Ethiopia. They recruit Kenyan, Rwandan, Ethiopian and Ugandan workers through fraudulent offers of employment in the Middle East and Asia. This happens despite a directive by the government to register all agencies linking Kenyans to employment opportunities overseas.
This week, we're joined by Sophie Otiende of HAART Kenya (Awareness Against Human Trafficking) to talk about how human trafficking manifests in Kenya, and how to combat it. Press play!
Resources
Trafficking in Persons Report - June 2018
Kenya - Trafficking in Persons Report 2018
Human Trafficking in Kenya - National Crime Research Centre
Assessment Report On The Human Trafficking Situation In The Coastal Region of Kenya
Why human trafficking is still rife in Kenya
Human trafficking probe: CS Echesa on spot over Pakistani girls
Kenya is set to begin open field trials of GMO cotton in March 2019, following the approval for national performance trials by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) in 2018. [In June 2018, it was reported that Kenya would start growing GMO cotton on a commercial basis in 2019.]
This would make us the first in East Africa to grow GMOs in open fields, and fourth in Africa after South Africa, Burkina Faso and Sudan. BT cotton is among six crops that have been under confined field trials. The others are drought-tolerant maize, biofortified sorghum, viral resistant cassava, nutritionally enhanced cassava and gypsophila paniculata cut flowers. We’re joined by Anne Maina, co-ordinator of the Kenya Biodiversity Coalition, to discuss GMOs and food safety.
Resources
Kenya gears up for GMO cotton from next year
Biotech maize field trials fail to get crop agency green light
US seeks to push Kenya, other African countries to adopt GM crops
Genetically modified Bt cotton not worth the hype
Kenya soon to lift ban on production of genetically modified cotton, maize
The future of cotton is not in genetically modified version
Kenya rules out open trials on genetically modified crops
Scientists say growing genetically-modified crop will revive local textile sector
Why lifting GMO ban remains contentious despite attempts to introduce it in Kenya
The biggest hurdle genetically engineered food faces isn’t science—it’s us
Genetically Modified Foods: Breeding Uncertainty
The Monsanto GMO Story: Adding a Fish Gene Into Tomatoes
Genetically modified crops safety assessments: present limits and possible improvements
Resource Guide to Organic Insect and Disease Management
Kenya Apparel and Textile Industry: Diagnosis, Strategy and Action Plan
How Monsanto’s GM cotton sowed trouble in Africa
Burkina Faso calls time on Monsanto's GM cotton, demands $280m damages
The Environmental Costs of Fast Fashion
Fast fashion: Inside the fight to end the silence on waste
Fast Fashion Is Killing People (Seriously!)
Monsanto ordered to pay $289m as jury rules weedkiller caused man's cancer
'The world is against them': new era of cancer lawsuits threaten Monsanto
The man who beat Monsanto: 'They have to pay for not being honest'
Roundup weed killer lawsuit hits a snag, but Monsanto is not off the hook
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
How to practice Integrated Pest Management?
Biodiversity and Its Importance
Episode 66: The Politics of Food in Nairobi
Episode 78: Public Finance and the Right to Food [Part 1]