Policy In Kenya Research Articles

Relationship between Teachers’ Professional Training and use of Instructional Strategies to Enhance Pupils’ Literacy Skills in Lower Primary Schools in Busia County, Kenya

Children who possess adequate basic language skills develop cognitive and social skills required in life and workplace. It also enhances smooth transition, performance, and retention and completion rate. Teachers with adequate professional training skills exhibits a potential to influent development of language skills in children. The Kenyan policy states that basic education and early learning is compulsory to all children. Therefore, it is relevant that teachers are equipped with adequate training skills to become champions in the realization of the country’s overall goal in education sector. This paper presents results from a study conducted in lower primary schools in Nambale sub-county Busia County to establish whether teachers’ professional training had an influence in the way teachers use instructional strategies to enhance pupils’ literacy skills. This was essential towards improving overall academic outcomes and communications skills in children.

The Burden of Snakebite in Rural Communities in Kenya: A Household Survey.

Annually, about 2.7 million snakebite envenomings occur worldwide, primarily affecting those living in rural regions. Effective treatment exists but is scarce, and traditional treatments are commonly used. To inform context-specific policies in Kenya, this study aimed to determine the health-seeking behavior and the health, social, and economic burden of snakebites in rural communities. Nonprobability sampling was used to survey 382 respondents from four snakebite-endemic counties, from February to August 2020, using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Fisher's exact tests, binary logistic regressions, and Mantel-Haenszel tests were used for analysis. Life-time experience with snakebites included 13.1% of respondents who reported being personally bitten and 37.4% who reported knowing of a community member being bitten. Respondents reported death after a snakebite in 9.1% of bitten community members and in 14.6% of bitten family members. Risk of snakebite was not significantly associated with sex, educational level, or occupation. Snakebite victims were most often walking (38%) or farming (24%) when bitten. Of those bitten, 58% went to a health facility, 30% sought traditional treatment, and 12% first went to a traditional healer before visiting a facility. Significant differences existed in perceptions on the financial consequences of snakebites among those who had been personally bitten and those who had observed a snakebite. Most commonly mentioned preventive measures were wearing shoes and carrying a light in the dark. Community engagement, including engagement with traditional healers, is needed to reduce snakebites. This should be done through education and sensitization to improve used preventive measures and effective health-seeking behavior.

Stakeholder-engaged research: strategies for the prevention and control of overweight and obesity in Kenya

BackgroundThis study was done as part of a larger study that aims to identify the most impactful and cost-effective strategies for the prevention and control of overweight and obesity in Kenya. Our objective was to involve stakeholders in the identification of the strategies that would be included in our larger study. The results from the stakeholder engagement are analyzed and reported in this paper.DesignThis was a qualitative study. A one-day stakeholder workshop that followed a deliberative dialogue process was conducted.ParticipantsA sample of stakeholders who participate in the national level policymaking process for health in Kenya.Outcome measureStrategies for the prevention and control of overweight and obesity in Kenya.ResultsOut of the twenty-three stakeholders who confirmed attendance, fifteen participants attended the one-day workshop. The stakeholders identified a total of 24 strategies for the prevention and control of overweight and obesity in Kenya. From the ranking process carried out the top six strategies identified were: a research-based strategy for the identification of the nutritional value of indigenous foods, implementation of health promotion strategies that focus on the creation of healthy environments, physical activity behavior such as gym attendance, jogging, walking, and running at the individual level, implementation of school curricula on nutrition and health promotion, integration of physical education into the new Competency-Based Education policy, and policies that increase use of public transport.ConclusionThe stakeholders identified and ranked strategies for the prevention and control of overweight and obesity in Kenya. This informs future overweight and obesity prevention research and policy in Kenya and similar settings.

Sustainability drivers and inhibitors for the health system performance improvement projects in selected health facilities in Kenya: a qualitative study

ObjectivesTo investigate the health managers perceived sustainability status of the health facilities institutional improvement projects and their experiences on factors that facilitated or constrained their maintenance, with intentions of informing...

Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on Unemployment Rates in East African Community Founding Members: Who benefits the Most?

The study analyses comparative effects of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows on youth unemployment in East African Community (EAC) founding member countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Based on time series data from 1990 to 2016, the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) regression revealed that, FDI significantly influences reduction in unemployment rate in Kenya by 0.708%. The results in Tanzania and Uganda showed that, FDI inflows increases unemployment rates by 0.337% and 0.852% respectively. The results revealed that, FDI is significantly benefiting Kenya young generation through job creation, as compared to Tanzania and Uganda. Unemployment rate in Kenya has been reduced significantly due to FDI inflow by 0.14 % by each percentage of FDI inflow. The favourable economic and social policies in Kenya, have been well integrated into investment policies and result into positive prospects of employment creations. In Tanzania and Uganda, FDI inflows have not been much effective on youth unemployment. Every percentage of investment growth, causes an increase of 0.34% and 0.85 % of unemployment in Tanzania and Uganda respectively. Based on these results, it is recommended that, both Tanzania and Uganda should revisit their FDI related policies to ensure the FDI programmes are beneficial in reducing unemployment rates.

Expanding access to secondary education: Evidence from a fee reduction and capacity expansion policy in Kenya

I investigate the Kenyan government’s 2008 public secondary school expansion policy which lowered school fees and increased capacity. This policy rapidly increased the proportion of students continuing from primary to secondary school, particularly from areas with low initial primary to secondary transition rates. Using this regional variation in exposure to the program together with birth-cohort variation, I show that the program increased female educational achievement, delayed childbirth and related demographic behaviors, and shifted employment away from agriculture towards skilled work.

Impact of free maternity policies in Kenya: an interrupted time-series analysis

BackgroundUser fees have been reported to limit access to services and increase inequities. As a result, Kenya introduced a free maternity policy in all public facilities in 2013. Subsequently in...

Media influence on public policy in Kenya

AbstractMany scholars argue that the media can influence policymakers – determining the policy agenda, framing issues, prioritising issues and, on occasion, setting the policy as well. It could be, however, that skilled policymakers exploit the media, so that the media in fact reflects the issues that policymakers want debated. This then poses an important question of whether the media does indeed influence the public policy process. The topic of media influence is widely studied in consolidated democracies but there has been limited research in consolidating democracies. This paper addresses both of these gaps – through exploring the extent to which the media influences policymakers in Kenya, a country perceived to have a moderately free press and one in which a range of interest groups vie to influence government and thus with a media likely to carry a range of competing opinions.

Beyond technical standards: Creating an ecosystem for quality and repair in Kenya's off-grid solar sector

Kenya’s national electrification plan now promotes the use of off-grid solar home systems as a long-term energy access solution in rural regions of the country, suggesting that these technologies may no longer be viewed as stop-gap solutions for households awaiting the centralized grid. The quality of these off-grid solar systems is governed by technical standards that require specific information is disclosed on labels to communicate quality measures to consumers, but who uses this information? We argue that there are four audiences that “consume” this information: international organizations and actors working to harmonize standards across countries, port-of-entry conformity assessors, agents or electricians and technicians/installers, and end users. Using qualitative data from interviews and focus group discussions, we illustrate that labels alone do not sufficiently educate end users about solar quality. Rather, end users rely on local sales agents, technicians, and electricians for guidance on purchases, repairs, and e-waste, as these actors are better positioned to help end users interpret the technical information required by standards. International programs and Kenyan policies that address solar quality will benefit from rebalancing the resources (capacity and financial) expended on information campaigns and labeling with efforts that support a more sustainable ecosystem of on-the-ground solar services.

Realities and challenges of breastfeeding policy in the context of HIV: a qualitative study on community perspectives on facilitators and barriers related to breastfeeding among HIV positive mothers in Baringo County, Kenya

BackgroundAlthough recent policies have sought to increase the rates of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and continued breastfeeding for HIV exposed infants, few programs have considered the multiple social and cultural barriers to the practice. Therefore, to generate evidence for exclusive and continued breastfeeding policies in Kenya, we examined community perspectives on the facilitators and barriers in adherence to EBF for the HIV positive mothers.MethodsQualitative research was conducted in Koibatek, a sub-County in Baringo County Kenya, in August 2014 among 205 respondents. A total of 14 focus group discussions (n = 177), 14 In-depth Interviews and 16 key informant interviews were conducted. Transcribed data was analyzed thematically. NVivo version 10.0 computer qualitative software program was used to manage and facilitate the analysis.ResultsFacilitators to exclusive breastfeeding were perceived to include counselling at the health facility, desire to have a healthy baby, use of antiretroviral drugs and health benefits associated with breastmilk. Barriers to EBF included poor dissemination of policies, knowledge gap, misinterpretation of EBF, inadequate counselling, attitude of mother and health workers due to fear of vertical HIV transmission, stigma related to misconception and misinformation that EBF is only compulsory for HIV positive mothers, stigma related to HIV and disclosure, social pressure, lack of male involvement, cultural practices and traditions, employment, food insecurity.ConclusionsThere are multiple facilitators and barriers of optimal breastfeeding that needs a holistic approach to interventions aimed at achieving elimination of mother to child transmission. Extension of infant feeding support in the context of HIV to the community while building on existing interventions such as the Baby Friendly Community Initiative is key to providing confidential support services for the additional needs faced by HIV positive mothers.

On the economic thought of trade practices and policies in Kenya

This study explains trade regimes in Kenya from a History of Economic Thought (HET) perspective using secondary materials (books, papers, and original manuscripts). We found that the pre-colonial era (before 1895) had a mixture of Classical doctrines and Mercantilism, whereby long-distance and barter trade between communities were practiced. Nonetheless, certain communities restricted trade. Classical economic thought was practiced in the colonial period (1895-1962), whereby agricultural produce was exported and less expensive consumables were imported. The post-colonial period started with a Mercantilism approach (Importsubstitution), but successive regimes have promoted Classical doctrines of trade by reducing import and export barriers and creating trade-promotion institutions. Trade in services, which is topical in international trade, has also been promoted in this regime.

Online content regulation policy in Kenya: potential challenges and possible solutions

ABSTRACT The digital explosion experienced in Africa has rendered old media laws and ethics inapplicable in dealing with cases of abuse and misuse on social media platforms. As a result, authorities in most African countries are playing catch-up in combating bloggers and citizens who keep flouting media laws and ethics in cyberspace. This paper, focussing on mis/disinformation, identifies the key concerns and challenges in the present online content regulation in Kenya. It offers an up-to-date, well-informed review of the Kenyan regulatory landscape and a critical analysis of its limitations and the risks associated with it. In responding to these limitations, the paper proposes a concept of Media Regulation and Media Literacy (MRAML). MRAML incorporates media literacy education as part of the existing cyber regulation in curbing harmful online content. MRAML is anchored in UNESCO's Triple E's Model and social responsibility theory and recognises internet users as crucial stakeholders who can also be incorporated in online content regulation. MRAML aims to empower Kenyan internet users by creating awareness of the existing cyber regulations, developing their skills in critical thinking and enhancing their ability to identify and tackle illegal and harmful online content, thereby ensuring a safe, respectful, harmonious and inclusive Kenyan cyberspace.

Placing greater emphasis on vocational education in Kenya

Kenya, like other countries in the Sub Sahara Africa (SSA), Technical, vocational education, and training (TVET) is believed to be an obvious remedy to youth employment across the region. As we view TVET in this way, the perception in many if not all the countries across SSA is that TVET is a salvation for the intellectually incapable or those with less or no aspiration for better paying jobs. For the elite and middle class, TVET is in reality not for their children, as it seems almost ‘useless’. Interestingly, even with such perceptions, Kenya and other SSA countries have continued to ‘embrace’ TVET in their education systems but with little investment towards those TVET programmes. In 2018, there was a shift in policy in Kenya with TVET receiving more attention, and as a result attracting a larger budget allocation. The government slashed fees for students in technical and vocational education institutions, and raised public funding in its latest bid to grow the critical skills base needed to achieve the country’s economic ambitions. To support this policy, the government agreed to give an annual bursary of US$300 for every student who joins the technical institutions (University World News, 2018). The students will access the funding through the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), the agency that disburses loans to university students on behalf of the government. This policy comes as a result of the World bank warning regarding a widening disconnect between labour market skills needs and the graduates of higher education institutions. This paper provides an overview of the state of TVET in Kenya, challenges and possible recommendations to support the new TVET reforms towards making it more attractive for learners in Kenya.

Gendered economic, social and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigation policies in Kenya: evidence from a prospective cohort survey in Nairobi informal settlements

ObjectivesCOVID-19 may spread rapidly in densely populated urban informal settlements. Kenya swiftly implemented mitigation policies; we assess the economic, social and health-related harm disproportionately impacting women.DesignA prospective longitudinal cohort study...

Print Media Framing of Definitions and Causes of, and Solutions to, Work-Life Balance Issues in Kenya

Work-life balance (WLB) issues are taking centre stage in the work and family policies in Kenya. This is due to the diversity of the current workforce that includes high proportions of working women. This article reports on a study that sought to find out how the print media frames the definitions and causes of, and solutions to, WLB issues in Kenya. The study found that the media frames WLB as a middle-and upper-class families’ women’s issue. Thus, WLB is depicted as unattainable and women’s work is framed as their choice made for selfish ambition. This framing places working mothers at a disadvantage. Women are perceived as primary caregivers with roles that cannot be delegated. There is also less support from their spouses and employers and more reliance on domestic workers. The study found the following solutions to WLB challenges: (1) reframe women’s role to be inclusive of work; (2) include nurturing roles to expand the role of fathers and husbands; (3) improve women’s relationship with their domestic workers; (4) encourage women to pace life accordingly; and (5) advise women to plan and have better time management. Policy implications are also discussed in detail in the article.

Monitoring and Evaluation for Quality Service Delivery in Pre-Primary Schools in Murang’a County, Kenya

Monitoring and evaluation of the National Early Childhood Development (ECD) Policy framework in Kenya which has been in place since the year 2006 accompanied by a service guideline is important in promoting its implementation. The extent to which the policy is implemented would have a direct pairing with the quality of early childhood service delivery. The purpose of this study was to investigate the levels of monitoring and evaluation in implementation of the National Early Childhood Development Policy framework for quality service delivery in pre-primary schools in Kenya. Conflict Ambiguity Model of Policy implementation, Broffenbrenner’s Ecological systems theory and Lilian Katz perspective on quality theory were used. Mixed methods research approach and concurrent triangulation design guided the study. Data was collected using questionnaire, observation schedule and interview guides. Instruments reliability coefficient was 0.85. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically and quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings indicated that a strong relation between monitoring and evaluation at p < 0.001 and quality service delivery in pre-primary schools. The study concluded that goals of the ECD policy in Kenya of enhancing quality service delivery may not be realized thus compromising on the quality of pre-primary education. Subsequently, the study recommended that the county government should allocate adequate resources both financial and human to ensure regular monitoring of pre-primary schools in an effort to promote actualization of policy guidelines in delivery of quality services and consequently promoting positive child development outcomes.

Lower Primary School Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Educational Language Policy in Kenya

In Kenya, the educational language policy prescribes that the language of instruction in lower primary school (Grade 1 to 3) for schools in urban areas should be English or Kiswahili. For schools located in rural areas, the language of instruction in Grade 1 to 3 is the learners’ mother tongue or the language of the catchment area of the school. From Grade 4 onwards, all learners are to be instructed and examined in English. For this language policy to achieve its intended outcomes, there is a need for awareness and positive reception by its implementers: lower primary school teachers. This study examines the awareness and attitudes of lower primary school teachers toward the educational language policy. A survey design was adopted for this study. Questionnaires were administered to 75 teachers of Grade 1 to 3, drawn from a stratified multistage sample of 175 primary schools in rural, urban and semi-urban areas of Kakamega County, Western Kenya. The results of the study reveal that lower primary school teachers are aware of the existing language of instruction. The teachers feel that they ought to be free to select the language of instruction based on their particular pedagogical needs. The findings indicate the need for policymakers to review the educational language policy as currently formulated, especially concerning the use of Mother Tongue as one of the languages of instruction in lower primary schools. The current framework leads to a differential application of the policy, which in turn may affect learner outcomes at Grade 4, where all learners switch to the use of English. If the policy is to persist, then learning materials and teaching aids in Mother Tongue should be availed to rural schools to permit equitable outcomes for all learners.

The Paradox of Alcohol Control Policies in Kenya: Culture versus Policy: A Case of Illicit Brew Control in Kakamega and Uasin Gishu Counties, Kenya

Alcoholic beverages are closely linked to the history of man. They are either recorded (formal) or unrecorded (illicit). In Africa, a third of all alcohol consumed is illicit and are closely tied to cultural traditions that challenge alcohol control policies. This study was carried out in Kakamega and Uasin Gishu counties in Kenya targeting illicit brew traders and National Government Administrative officers (Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs). It was a descriptive study that sought to determine how cultural norms determined implementation of alcohol control policy on illicit brews. The study was guided by discursive approach to policy, the result indicated that, illicit brews were socially acceptable, were a key requirement in traditional rituals practiced in both counties, were valued by some members in the community, used a medicine, is an intergenerational art and played key roles during different social integration events. All these factors, affected the effort to curb illicit brew trade because the implementers belonged to the same communities, some still holding the believes about traditional alcohol. It was further found that the presence of cultural values on unrecorded alcohol, multiple stakeholders in controlling the brews and national constitution protecting people’s cultural heritage further derailed control efforts by of the National Government Administrative officers.

Implementation fidelity of nutritional counselling, iron and folic acid supplementation guidelines and associated challenges in rural Uasin Gishu County Kenya

BackgroundImplementation fidelity which is defined as the degree to which programmes are implemented as intended is one of the factors that affect programme outcome, thus requiring careful examination. This study aims to acquire insight into the degree to which nutritional counselling and Iron and Folic Acid supplementation (IFAs) policy guidelines during pregnancy have been implemented as intended and the challenges to implementation fidelity.MethodsData were collected in rural Uasin Gishu County in the western part of Kenya through document analysis, questionnaires among intervention recipients (n = 188) and semi-structured interviews with programme implementers (n = 6). Data collection and analysis were guided by an implementation fidelity framework. We specifically evaluated adherence to intervention design (content, frequency, duration and coverage), exposure or dosage, quality of delivery and participant responsiveness.ResultsCoverage of nutritional counselling and IFAs policy is widespread. However, partial provision was reported in all the intervention components. Only 10% accessed intervention within the first trimester as recommended by policy guidelines, only 28% reported receiving nutritional counselling, only 18 and 15% of the respondents received 90 or more iron and folic acid pills respectively during their entire pregnancy period, and 66% completed taking the IFAs pills that were issued to them. Late initial bookings to antenatal care, drug stock shortage, staff shortage and long queues, confusing dosage instructions, side effects of the pills and issuing of many pills at one go, were established to be the main challenges to effective implementation fidelity. Anticipated health consequences and emphasis by the health officer to comply with instructions were established to be motivations for adherence to nutritional counselling and IFAs guidelines.ConclusionsImplementation fidelity of nutritional counselling and IFAs policy in Kenya is generally weak. There is need for approaches to enhance early access to interventions, enhance stock availability, provide mitigation measures for the side effects, as well as intensify nutritional counselling to promote the consumption of micronutrient-rich food sources available in the local environment to substitute for the shortage of nutritional supplements and low compliance to IFAs.

‘KRA Has the Capacity, but It Is Kept On a Tight Leash’: The Politics of Tax Administration and Policy in Kenya

This paper examines the factors that have influenced the performance of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) since its establishment in 1995. It discovers a pronounced role for Kenya’s competitive and fragmented political settlement, which generates strong incentives for ruling elites to constrain KRA’s autonomy because of its potential as a patronage tool and as a political weapon. For much of KRA’s first decade of existence, these dynamics curtailed its ability to function as a ‘pocket of effectiveness’ (POE). KRA did, however, emerge as a POE (albeit a fragile and progressively weakening one) from around 2003, when a shared set of ideas motivated newly elected President Mwai Kibaki and an inner circle of likeminded ‘technopols’ to try and insulate the organization from the more corrosive and short-termist pressures generated by Kenya’s political settlement. They did so because of the importance of revenue mobilisation within their broader developmental vision. That said, KRA was a somewhat isolated POE, as Kibaki’s administration failed to overcome the much greater political pressures around tax policy to provide the kind of broader enabling environment that would have allowed KRA to tap significant new revenue streams. Thus, even in periods when KRA has functioned as a POE, Kenya’s performance with regards to revenue collection has demonstrated only moderate improvements. These findings, the paper concludes, offer insights into the limitations of POEs when the broader policy environment within which they are located remains unconducive.