Journals Articles

Assessment of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) knowledge, attitudes and practices in water stressed Kenyan semi-arid landscape

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Assessment of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) knowledge, attitudes and practices in water stressed Kenyan semi-arid landscape Brian Marvis Waswala-Olewe, Monica Adhiambo Olewe, Faith Oloitipitip, George Paul Omondi, Paul Webala, Romulus Abila Residents of Kenya’s semi-arid Narok West subcounty have low access to safe potable water and sanitation, resulting in waterborne diseases (WBD) morbidity and poor sanitation. A survey of 155 households in the subcounty revealed critical insights into water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practiced in a semi-arid region. Using stratified random sampling and statistical analysis, our study revealed that most respondents (92.6%) lack access to public piped water with 35.5% consuming non-potable water. Majority of the surface water sources are unprotected, with rivers being the primarily water source. Water source seasonality and WBD prevalence varied significantly by subcounty wards (p=<0.05). While 64.5% of households treated water, WBD prevalence remained high at 37.4% three months prior to this study. Sanitation access showed 70% of households used improved facilities, while 30% practiced open defecation. Neither gender nor age significantly influenced sanitation facility use. These findings highlight contemporary challenges in achieving UN SDG 6 targets for clean water and sanitation in rural Kenya. We recommend enhancing water conservation to maintain ecological integrity amid climate change and promotion of Community-Led Total Sanitation through awareness campaigns, education, and social marketing. Integrating local indigenous knowledge into water management and conducting regular physiochemical and microbial assessments of surface wetlands are also critical to improving WASH outcomes and reducing WBD morbidity in Narok West.

Carnal Knowledge under Penitentiary Order: Female Convicts, Gender and Sexuality in Post-colonial Kenya

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Carnal Knowledge under Penitentiary Order: Female Convicts, Gender and Sexuality in Post-colonial Kenya John Ndungu Kungu Women incarceration disrupted conventional modes of reproduction and threatened reproductive justice, separated families and funneled children into foster care, restricted women's access to abortion and adequate pregnancy care, shackled women in childbirth, and incarcerated people during their prime reproductive years. Based on historical and ethnographic fieldwork in Langata women's prison, we explore the discourse of sex, reproductive health, and motherhood behind bars. We argue that across time and place, these semicarceral institutions extended the arms of the state to control women's perceived moral and sexual transgressions. The health needs of all prisoners, including women prisoners and their children in Kenya have drawn increasing attention over the past decade. Sexual tensions among females in African prisons have received little attention from researchers since prison studies in Africa tend to focus on the sexual relationships among male prisoners, especially the coercive nature of such relationships in male prisons. This paper, therefore, seeks to close this gap and examine the discourse of reproduction and sexuality in Langata Women's Prison.

Alternative water filtration materials, technologies, practices and sources of knowledge in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) and high rainfall areas

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Alternative water filtration materials, technologies, practices and sources of knowledge in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) and high rainfall areas Doryce Ndubi, Aloys Osano, Romulus Abila Indigenous knowledge and practices (IKP) can be incorporated into low-tech environmentally sustainable water filtration methods for low-income rural Sub- Saharan African communities. This study sought to identify alternative water filtration materials, technologies, practices and sources of this knowledge in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands and high rainfall regions. Adult household heads were interviewed through the administration of open and close ended questionnaires. From the respondents, 25% of the arid and semi-arid lands used clay vessels, 62.5% gravel and pebbles, and 12.5% bark of Acacia albida. Out of respondents from high rainfall areas, 59% used clay vessels, 27% gravel and pebbles, 14% leaves of Rhus natalensis, and 25% filtration with cloth. The major technologies used by respondents from arid and semi-arid lands were sedimentation (36%), sun heating (27%) and filtration using gravel and pebbles (21%) while those from high rainfall regions mainly used filtration with clay pots (28%), leaves of plants (21%) and boiling (18%). Respondents from arid and semi-arid lands indicated that 9% gained this knowledge by word of mouth, and 91% through observation, while 17% from the high rainfall regions by word of mouth and 83% from observation. The findings indicated that different communities applied the various technologies in a customized way. Traditional water filtration materials are eco-friendly, cost-effective and easily adaptable, and their use should be encouraged. Conventional methods should seek to modify and improve these methods to ensure higher purification efficiency.

The role of atomic coherence in enhanced absorption line-profile

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The role of atomic coherence in enhanced absorption line-profile Enoch Santeto Kuntai, Jared Ombiro Gwaro, Ogaro Elijah Nyakang’o In this paper, we present a theoretical analysis of the burning of a narrow transparency window on the enhanced absorption spectrum of a probe laser in a triple resonance configuration visualized as a V-type plus a two-level system. The transparency window is due to coherence effects causing electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a V-type system (i.e. Autler–Townes splitting plus quantum interference), for atomic vapor at a finite temperature. Additionally, the EIT window is enhanced by velocity induced population oscillation effect, velocity selective saturation effect, optical pumping effect (a source of ground state level population dynamics) and wavelength mismatch of the resonant laser fields forming a V-type configuration.