livestock diseases Stories

Kenya losing over Sh18 billion annually to tsetse fly-linked livestock diseases — CS Kagwe
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Sep 17, 2025

Kagwe made the remarks while opening the 37th International Scientific Council for Trypanosomiasis Research and Control Conference in Nairobi.

Cost of sickle cell: How patients are struggling silently with disease burden
Zainab Saidi  |  Sep 14, 2025

As the country marks Sickle Cell Awareness Month, patients and doctors are united in their call that awareness is no longer enough. Lower drug costs,...

Artificial sweeteners may speed up brain ageing and raise health risks, research shows
Charity Kilei  |  Sep 09, 2025

A growing body of research supports concerns that artificial sweeteners may not be as safe as once believed.

The high cost of waste: Nairobi's landfills and the hidden toll on human health
Charity Kilei  |  Sep 07, 2025

For residents in areas such as Dandora, Majengo, and Shauri Moyo, these are not just eyesores—they are health hazards that slowly and silently erode q...

African governments urged to boost funding as NCD crisis deepens
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Aug 27, 2025

Data from Kenya’s Ministry of Health shows that in the 2018/2019 financial year, only 11.6 percent of the national health budget went toward NCDs.

As August temperatures drop, here is why you need a sauna or steam bath
Margaret Wanjiru  |  Aug 27, 2025

While generally safe, experts caution that individuals with cardiovascular issues, pregnant women, and those with certain respiratory conditions shoul...

African health ministers adopt regional framework to fight oral diseases
Bashir Mbuthia  |  Aug 26, 2025

The framework seeks a 10 per cent reduction in major oral diseases and targets 60 per cent of African countries having national oral health policies w...

UN sounds alarm over Nairobi’s mounting garbage crisis
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Aug 24, 2025

This means nearly 40 per cent of households are surrounded by uncollected trash, a situation that leads to clogged drains, breeding grounds for mosqui...

How Turkana border communities are strengthening disease surveillance
Issa Hussein  |  Aug 23, 2025

Health teams have been conducting joint supportive supervision along key border areas, including Lokiriama Sub-County, which neighbours Uganda, South...

Kenya records landmark milestones in fight against HIV, malaria, TB and sleeping sickness
Rachael Mutabasi  |  Aug 19, 2025

More than 1.36 million people living with HIV in Kenya are now on lifesaving treatment, covering 98 per cent of those diagnosed, while mother-to-child...

Four tips for a healthy heart from a biokineticist
The Conversation  |  Aug 19, 2025

Many cardiovascular conditions develop silently. Elevated blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol often go unnoticed until a serious event, like a hea...

Over 600 million Africans still need treatment for neglected tropical diseases, WHO warns
Lucy Mumbi  |  Aug 17, 2025

In 2020, all WHO Member States endorsed the Road Map for Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021–2030, which set a global target of freeing 100 countries fro...

Garissa health experts urge end to epilepsy stigma, call for treatment and awareness
Issa Hussein  |  Aug 13, 2025

Garissa County Coordinator for Non-Communicable Diseases, Nurta Mohamed, urged people living with epilepsy and parents of children with the condition...

10 minutes of sunlight: The science-backed brain boost you’re likely overlooking
Margaret Wanjiru  |  Aug 09, 2025

10 minutes of basking in natural sunlight can have powerful effects on the brain, sharpening memory, lifting mood, and enhancing mental clarity.

Kenya officially eliminates sleeping sickness as public health threat, WHO confirms
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  Aug 08, 2025

Sleeping sickness, often called the “silent killer” of rural areas, begins with symptoms such as fever and headaches before progressing to confusion a...

Vegetable intake low in Kenya amid growing health concerns
Margaret Wanjiru  |  Jul 19, 2025

Vegetables are densely packed with vital nutrients, and including them regularly can significantly influence not just how we feel today, but how we ag...

UN push to eliminate processed fats sparks concerns over food access in poor nations
Alfred Onyango  |  Jul 17, 2025

In May 2025, the UN released a draft declaration proposing the global elimination of trans fats as part of a broader political commitment adopted at t...

UK doctors use three-person DNA technique to prevent deadly inherited disease in infants
Bashir Mbuthia  |  Jul 17, 2025

Mitochondrial diseases affect the parts of cells that produce energy, leading to muscle weakness, brain damage, heart problems, seizures, blindness an...

Africa’s freshwater ecosystems depend on little creatures like insects and snails: Study maps overlooked species
Martin Kinyanjui  |  Jul 13, 2025

Ignoring macroinvertebrates is ignoring the silent custodians of biodiversity and the very foundation of healthy freshwater ecosystems.

Burundi becomes Africa’s 8th country to eradicate trachoma
Charity Kilei  |  Jul 12, 2025

Trachoma primarily affects the poorest and most underserved populations, particularly in rural areas with limited access to clean water, sanitation, a...

World Zoonoses Day: Scientists warn Kenya faces rising threat from animal-borne diseases
Lucy Mumbi  |  Jul 06, 2025

Health researchers warn that risks have increased due to climate change, rapid urbanisation, and global travel, all of which accelerate the spread of...

Most packaged foods in Kenya need health warning labels - report
Bashir Mbuthia  |  Jul 01, 2025

In Kenya, the sale of processed packaged foods surged by 16 per cent between 2018 and 2023. Over the same period, obesity rates have tripled since 200...

Lancet warns of rising disease outbreaks as global childhood vaccination rates decline
Charity Kilei  |  Jun 26, 2025

Despite decades of success that have saved over 154 million children’s lives, recent years have seen growing gaps in vaccine coverage.

Kenya unveils 2024–2030 disaster risk strategy to protect lives and boost resilience
Joseph Ndunda  |  Jun 18, 2025

The DRM strategy seeks to minimise the loss of lives and livelihoods while promoting sustainable development by providing clear guidelines for mitigat...

Women lead sanitation drive in Tana River to curb cholera ahead of floods
Farhiya Hussein  |  Jun 04, 2025

With technical guidance and financial backing from the Supporting Community-Led Response initiative, more than 300 households constructed latrines and...

Wajir launches campaign against HIV, teen pregnancies, GBV as new infections emerge in ASAL counties
Issa Hussein  |  May 31, 2025

Wajir County executive committee member for health and sanitation, Habiba Ali, highlighted the increasing cases of HIV that she said needed a more uni...

MPs propose sugar levy on sweetened drinks to curb health risks, fund public programmes
Lucy Mumbi  |  May 29, 2025

According to the legislators, the levy would not only curb the rising intake of sugar but also help reduce the prevalence of lifestyle diseases such a...

Kenyan breast cancer patients to pay 67pc less for treatment under new deal with Roche
Lucy Mumbi  |  May 29, 2025

The agreement, formalised through an MoU, is part of the government’s broader efforts to strengthen financial protection for cancer patients in line w...

Alarm over tropical diseases as counties turn to internal funds
Maureen Kinyanjui  |  May 29, 2025

Counties revealed that they are struggling to sustain treatment and prevention programmes for diseases like bilharzia, intestinal worms, trachoma, sle...

Tanzania to build largest kidney transplant centre in Sub-Saharan Africa
Bashir Mbuthia  |  May 28, 2025

The project was formalised on Monday when Tanzania and Japan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the World Expo Osaka 2025.

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