CDRI Research articles

Attitudes of Herbalists Towards Regulation and Integration of Herbal Medicine into Mainstream Healthcare in Kenya: A Cross-Sectional Study

2026-01-29T00:00:00Z

Attitudes of Herbalists Towards Regulation and Integration of Herbal Medicine into Mainstream Healthcare in Kenya: A Cross-Sectional Study Nyamongo K, Isaac; Inyangala, Ronald; Kigen, Gabriel; Bosire, Kefa; Mutai, Peggoty The practice of herbal medicine in Kenya is not well-regulated to date. This has resulted in infiltration by quacks and other malpractices that pose serious health problems to the Kenyan public. Additionally, despite treating the same patients in most cases, there is no communication between the medical staff and herbal practitioners, owing to the popularity of herbal medicine. The study aimed to understand herbalists’ opinions on regulation and the integration of their practice into mainstream healthcare. A cross-sectional study design was adopted, and purposive sampling was used to select participants, who included officials from the herbalist’s associations from 21 Kenyan counties where herbal practice is still rife. They comprised the chairman, secretary, treasurer, and organizing secretary for each association. A total of 70 officials who were willing to participate in the study were interviewed. Targeted structured questionnaires were used to obtain their views on several issues, including regulation, disclosure, and integration into mainstay healthcare. Data analysis was implemented using STATA version 13. The findings indicate that the majority (51%) of the herbalists are in support of local and national regulation through the Ministry of Health. Additionally, 99% are willing to work together with conventional healthcare workers by way of referrals. They are also willing to disclose their herbal medications to healthcare professionals (47%) and research institutions (87%). We propose an evidence-based model whereby herbalists are regulated under the Ministry of Health in order to eradicate quacks and malpractice. The herbalists may communicate with doctors by way of referrals and benefit from training from health officials. A research article published in the African Journal of Pharmacy and Alternative Medicine

Why integrity is cornerstone for Saccos.

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Why integrity is cornerstone for Saccos. Nyamongo K, Isaac An article published in the Daily Nation newspaper

Effectiveness of a community-centered Newcastle disease vaccine delivery model under paid and free vaccination frameworks in southeastern Kenya

2024-08-01T00:00:00Z

Effectiveness of a community-centered Newcastle disease vaccine delivery model under paid and free vaccination frameworks in southeastern Kenya Ogolla, Kennedy O.; Anyona, Douglas N.; Chemuliti, Judith K.; Kimani, Winnie W.; King’oo, Francisca M.; Waweru, Kennedy M.; Omia, Dalmas O.; Nyamongo, Isaac K.; Bukachi, Salome A. In the absence of effective drugs, vaccines constitute the cornerstone for the prevention of Newcastle disease (ND). Different strategies have been implemented to increase vaccina- tion, but uptake remains low, underscoring the need for novel vaccine delivery methods. We designed and assessed the effectiveness of a community-centered ND vaccine delivery model in southeastern Kenya. Under the model, we sensitized smallholder chicken farmers (SCFs) through structured training on chicken husbandry, biosecurity, ND, and its vaccina- tion, among other aspects. We subsequently engaged trained community vaccinators (CVs) to deliver vaccines and/or provide vaccination services to SCFs at a cost on one hand and, at no cost on the other, in selected sites to address challenges of inadequate service provid- ers, vaccine unavailability, and inaccessibility. We tested this model under paid and free vaccination frameworks over one year and assessed the model’s effect on vaccine uptake, ND-related deaths, and vaccine accessibility, among other aspects. Overall, we vaccinated more chickens at free sites compared to paid sites. However, we vaccinated a significantly higher mean number of chickens per household at paid (49.4±38.5) compared to free (28.4 ±25.9) sites (t = 8.4, p<0.0001). We recorded a significant increase in the proportion of SCFs who vaccinated their chickens from 31.3% to 68.4% (χ2(1, N = 399) = 58.3, p<0.0001) in paid and from 19.9% to 74.9% (χ2(1, N = 403) = 115.7, p<0.0001) in free sites pre- and post- intervention, respectively. The mean number of ND-related deaths reported per household decreased from 18.1±31.6 pre-intervention to 7.5±22.3 post-intervention (t = 5.4, p = 0.000), with higher reductions recorded in paid sites (20.9±37.7 to 4.5±11.2) compared to free sites (15.0±22.6 to 10.7±29.7) pre- and post-intervention, respectively. Farmers with access to vaccines increased significantly from 61.1% to 85.4% (χ2(1, N = 399) = 31.7, p<0.0001) in paid and 43.6% to 74.9% (χ2(1, N = 403) = 38.4, p = 0.0001) in free sites pre- and post-intervention, respectively. We established that type of intervention framework, gender of household head, if the household head attended training on chicken production in the last 12 months, access to information on ND vaccination, and the number of chickens lost to the previous ND outbreak were significant predictors of ND vaccine uptake. Our findings indicate the model has a broader reach and benefits for SCFs. However, policies should be enacted to regulate the integration of CVs into the formal animal health sector. A research article published by Plos One publishers

Gender dynamics:A study of the differing experiences of women in Formal and Informal Co-operatives.

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Gender dynamics:A study of the differing experiences of women in Formal and Informal Co-operatives. Nyamongo, Isaac K.; Mutua, Lydia.; Wambua, Victor.; Hermanson, Judith A.; Maiyo, Silas. A research article authored by the International Co-operative Research Group (ICRG).