Over the last 10 years, Kenya has made progress in malaria control. However, the country is still far from defeating the disease Compromising the fight against malaria are factors such as poor knowledge of the disease, lack of diagnostic equipment in health facilities and low uptake of preventive measures such as sleeping under insecticide treated nets and taking antimalarial drugs during pregnancy. A review of data reveals that investments in fighting malaria have reduced. Additionally, household ownership of insecticide treated nets has plateaued. Last year alone, Kenya lost more than 30,000 people from malaria. To roll back malaria, the Government must invest more in new initiatives and tools for fighting it even as it makes use of emerging epidemiological knowledge of the disease. http://www.internewskenya.org

Torture of mental patients has become rampant in Kenya, according a report by Independent Medico-Legal Unit. The report indicates that schools are the most affected with 68.3% and Police stations at a close second with 60.8%. Patients in this institution are denied contact with any family member, doctors or lawyers, they are also subjected to physical assault. Prisons are ranked third with 58.9%, with a similar percentage being abused at home. The report adds that hospitals have the lowest prevalence of victimisation according to the study, though the percentage is still high at a 38.9%. The most common victimisation of mental patients in hospitals is caused by patients and hospital staff in the form of physical abuse and torture. Patients revealed that a 20.4 % were assaulted with a baton, being beaten on the head or the back, 10.2% being exposed to non conducive environment such as heat, darkness or light and cold. A smaller percentage (9%) were asked to make tough choices such as signing of false statements, participation of torture or witnessing victimisation of others. According to the report, titled the State of Mental Health, patients have also suffered disabilities due to the victimizations they go through.

There are some issues in society that will never die off and as much as we try to turn our backs, the debate on abortion can never go away. It is a silent 'problem' that many women, oblivious or ignorant of the consequences, continue to procure abortions. Apparently more women abort than we ever thought possible with some aborting as many as six times. Aron says his wife has aborted four times. “We have been married for six years and we have no children yet as my wife says she is not ready to raise a child. I don't know what to do about it. You see before I married her it was like she had already procured an abortion because she has been doing it so often. It is very hard for me but it is something that she is used to and I don't know what to tell her or how to stop her,” he says. Esther says two in three women have procured an abortion and the conversation amongst women is not whether you have aborted, but how many times one has done it. “I did it twice last year since I didn't want the pregnancy. Many of my aunties and cousins have had an abortion at one time and the procedure takes two minutes. It took me less than 20 minutes at a top Nairobi hospital and I was done and back to the office. It is as simple as that,” says Mumbi. Sandra says she has lost count of the many times she has had an abortion. “I have done it so many times and I don't know how it happens, I just find myself in the situation. I have even become a regular customer in the place where I go for the procedure,” she says. Oblivious of the dangers she is exposing herself to, Sandra adds that five to ten minutes after the procedure, you can be back to work or even walk in the street and no one will know you've just had an abortion. “Apart from feeling a little fatigued, there is nothing more. My husband doesn't want another child and when I use contraceptives, he complains so I cannot go for them and neither does he want to use condoms,” says the mother of two, adding that she has never considered a permanent method of family planning. Brenda, a mother of one, says her husband is very irresponsible and she takes all the load on her shoulders. She has aborted five times and at the moment she is expecting but will wait until two months when she can procure an abortion. “My husband doesn't care about us and I have to abort because I have a baby boy and it's like I am the only one who is taking charge of all the expenses; I do almost everything.

Public health officials in Taita Taveta have warned of a rise in HIV/Aids. The Taita National Aids Control Council coordinator, Dominick Kitandu, said people aged between 15 and 45 are the most affected. He blamed the rise in prostitution amongst lorry drivers who stop over in the towns on their way to and from Mombasa for the increase of the disease. The Aids officer said Maungu, Voi, and Manyani towns have recorded the highest increase of the sexually transmitted disease in the area. Kitandu blamed poverty for the increase in prostitution. Kitandu said the Aids council is training sex workers in Taveta on how to use condoms properly. He asked the residents to go for HIV tests regularly. "The cases are on the rise because people are afraid of going for tests. Most of them are afraid of being neglected in the community if they are found to be positive of the disease," Kitandu said. The Public Health ministry has put in place programmes to fight the disease through sensitising residents

Public health officials have issued a disease outbreak surveillance in Rift valley due to the fear of waterborne diseases such as Malaria, Pneumonia, Dysentery and Cholera. Public Health director Sharif Shahnaz has ordered health officers in all counties to be on alert and intensify public awareness campaigns. Scores have been displaced and several people have died across the country due to the heavy rains. Floods have displaced over four hundred families today after Lake Turkana burst its banks.The overflowing lake has also destroyed 800 hectares of irrigation schemes belonging to the the National Irrigation Board. So far 480 families living around the lakes have been displaced by the floods.The most affected areas include Loima, Morulem and Lotubai. Loima District Commissioner Bernard Odino said the displaced families are being moved to safer areas. Also in Nyahururu, the Kenya Red Cross estimates that over 30 households were affected at Riverside estate. Other areas affected include Manguo and Kiamaina slums.The Red Cross regional coordinator Arthur Kariuki said that the families have been forced to look for alternative shelter following the incident.

There are some issues in society that will never die off and as much as we try to turn our backs, the debate on abortion can never go away. It is a silent 'problem' that many women, oblivious or ignorant of the consequences, continue to procure abortions. Apparently more women abort than we ever thought possible with some aborting as many as six times. Aron says his wife has aborted four times. “We have been married for six years and we have no children yet as my wife says she is not ready to raise a child. I don't know what to do about it. You see before I married her it was like she had already procured an abortion because she has been doing it so often. It is very hard for me but it is something that she is used to and I don't know what to tell her or how to stop her,” he says. Esther says two in three women have procured an abortion and the conversation amongst women is not whether you have aborted, but how many times one has done it. “I did it twice last year since I didn't want the pregnancy. Many of my aunties and cousins have had an abortion at one time and the procedure takes two minutes. It took me less than 20 minutes at a top Nairobi hospital and I was done and back to the office. It is as simple as that,” says Mumbi. Sandra says she has lost count of the many times she has had an abortion. “I have done it so many times and I don't know how it happens, I just find myself in the situation. I have even become a regular customer in the place where I go for the procedure,” she says. Oblivious of the dangers she is exposing herself to, Sandra adds that five to ten minutes after the procedure, you can be back to work or even walk in the street and no one will know you've just had an abortion. “Apart from feeling a little fatigued, there is nothing more. My husband doesn't want another child and when I use contraceptives, he complains so I cannot go for them and neither does he want to use condoms,” says the mother of two, adding that she has never considered a permanent method of family planning. Brenda, a mother of one, says her husband is very irresponsible and she takes all the load on her shoulders. She has aborted five times and at the moment she is expecting but will wait until two months when she can procure an abortion. “My husband doesn't care about us and I have to abort because I have a baby boy and it's like I am the only one who is taking charge of all the expenses; I do almost everything.

Attorney General Githu Muigai has filed an application at the Supreme Court asking to be enjoined in the election petition filed by the Cord coalition. The AG has asked the court to enjoin him as Amicus Curiae (friend of the court) in the petition challenging Uhuru Kenyatta’s election as the president of Kenya. The AG will therefore be supplied with documents filed in the petition and can clarify any matter that the court, the responds or the petitioner are not clear on. Cord filed the petition challenging the poll outcome in which it’s presidential candidate Raila Odinga came second on Saturday. The coalition has repeatedly stated that the polls were marred by numerous anomalies including the Electronic Voter Identification devices (EVI), the failure of the electronic voter transmission system, and the reversion to manual tallying. The Supreme Court’s Chief Registrar Gladys Boss Sholei said on Saturday that the preparations for the hearing will take nine days. She added that the

A Nairobi bound passenger train derailed at Gatekwera area in Kibera, Nairobi earlier today injuring seven people. Fred Majiwa from St John Ambulance confirmed the incident stating that there were no fatalities while seven people sustained only minor injuries. Majiwa said the cause of the accident was unclear but said investigations are being carried out by railway authority technicians who were at the scene of the accident moments after the accident occurred. Efforts to remove the train are also underway so as to allow normal transportation to resume.

Public health officials have issued a disease outbreak surveillance in Rift valley due to the fear of waterborne diseases such as Malaria, Pneumonia, Dysentery and Cholera. Public Health director Sharif Shahnaz has ordered health officers in all counties to be on alert and intensify public awareness campaigns. Scores have been displaced and several people have died across the country due to the heavy rains. Floods have displaced over four hundred families today after Lake Turkana burst its banks.The overflowing lake has also destroyed 800 hectares of irrigation schemes belonging to the the National Irrigation Board. So far 480 families living around the lakes have been displaced by the floods.The most affected areas include Loima, Morulem and Lotubai. Loima District Commissioner Bernard Odino said the displaced families are being moved to safer areas. Also in Nyahururu, the Kenya Red Cross estimates that over 30 households were affected at Riverside estate. Other areas affected include Manguo and Kiamaina slums.The Red Cross regional coordinator Arthur Kariuki said that the families have been forced to look for alternative shelter following the incident.

Public health officials in Taita Taveta have warned of a rise in HIV/Aids. The Taita National Aids Control Council coordinator, Dominick Kitandu, said people aged between 15 and 45 are the most affected. He blamed the rise in prostitution amongst lorry drivers who stop over in the towns on their way to and from Mombasa for the increase of the disease. The Aids officer said Maungu, Voi, and Manyani towns have recorded the highest increase of the sexually transmitted disease in the area. Kitandu blamed poverty for the increase in prostitution. Kitandu said the Aids council is training sex workers in Taveta on how to use condoms properly. He asked the residents to go for HIV tests regularly. "The cases are on the rise because people are afraid of going for tests. Most of them are afraid of being neglected in the community if they are found to be positive of the disease," Kitandu said. The Public Health ministry has put in place programmes to fight the disease through sensitising residents

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) and persons evicted from water catchment forest have urged the government to prioritise their quick resettlement once the devolved system of government takes effect. The homeless from Rift Valley mainly Gilgil and Naivasha IDP camps and Mau, Embobut and Kipkurere forests are urging the government to allocate them land so that they can get their lives back on track. Nyokabi Kaara of Ebenezer IDP camp in Gilgil said the last time they received food rations was in December last year. “Many families are sleeping hungry and we call on the Ministry of Special Programmes to address the issue.” she said. She further questioned why there were IDP camps and yet the government had committed to resettling all displaced person and evictees before the March 4 general elections.

A Nairobi bound passenger train derailed at Gatekwera area in Kibera, Nairobi earlier today injuring seven people. Fred Majiwa from St John Ambulance confirmed the incident stating that there were no fatalities while seven people sustained only minor injuries. Majiwa said the cause of the accident was unclear but said investigations are being carried out by railway authority technicians who were at the scene of the accident moments after the accident occurred. Efforts to remove the train are also underway so as to allow normal transportation to resume.