Connecting Brands with Audiences
Even as food insecurity continues to afflict impoverished and disaster-affected populations around the continent, African policymakers and consumers remain deeply divided over the potential harms and benefits of genetically modified (GM) foods, which advocates say could greatly improve yields and nutrition. A recent study published in the journal Food Policy, titled Status of development, regulation […]
Climate change and increased population movements could see the spread of kala-azar (also known as visceral leishmaniasis or black fever) to hitherto unaffected locations, scientists warn. While kala-azar is endemic in 98 countries, putting some 350 million people at risk of infection globally, just seven (Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nepal, and South Sudan) account […]
Efforts to stop the spread of polio in the Horn of Africa region are being ramped up with major immunization campaigns underway, targeting millions of vulnerable children. There have been outbreaks in Kenya and Ethiopia, and more seriously neighbouring Somalia, with 183 cases confirmed this year up to October, according to a snapshot by the […]
Kenya’s HIV prevalence fell from 7.2 percent to 5.6 percent between 2007 and 2012, according to the preliminary results of the latest Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey (KAIS), but officials fear that unless the country reduces its reliance on donor funding for its HIV programmes, these gains will not be sustainable. “Prevalence is falling despite the […]
By Hezron Ochiel For three years, I was part of a team working on a deceptively simple question: How do you document nearly a century of institutional history without producing a book that reads like an archive? The answer became The Journey to Greatness, a publication documenting the evolution of the Kenya Medical Training College […]
By Hezron Ochiel The internet has changed where Kenyans can look for work. A professional in Kenya can now provide a service to a client thousands of kilometres away without ever meeting them physically. I experienced this shift early in my career. After college, I spent nearly two years trying to secure an entry-level opportunity […]
Better uptake of the new pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in children under five alongside more robust health monitoring systems at community level could help stem pneumonia related-deaths in children in Kenya: 20 percent of deaths in children under five are attributable to the disease, according to the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation. Immunization against […]
By Hezron Ochiel A press release can be well written and still be ignored. During my years in journalism, I received many press releases that never became stories. Some were too promotional. Others buried the real news or sent it to journalists with little interest in the subject. Later, working in public relations, I saw […]
By Hezron Ochiel Years ago, a professional photographer visiting my village was something people took notice of. There were few cameras, fewer trained photographers and even fewer people who knew how to use them well. Today, almost everyone carries a camera in their pocket. The smartphone changed photography by making image capture widely accessible. I […]
By Hezron Ochiel Securing a decent job after graduation is the dream of many young people, and I had the same expectation. After college, I wanted to build a career in journalism, preferably with a major media organisation in Kenya. For nearly two years, I struggled to secure even an entry-level opportunity as a correspondent […]