Publisher: Korir, api, africanpress@getmail.no source.nation.ke

Story by EMEKA-MAYAKA GEKARA and FRED OLUOCH

The Grand Coalition Government�s peace mission in the Rift Valley entered the second day on Friday as the position of Prime Minister Raila Odinga in the pecking order continued to excite debate among Kenyans.

�

�

Prime minister Raila Odinga, President Kibaki, Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and Internal Security minister George Saitoti during the peace tour in Kericho on Friday. Photo/SOLLO KIRAGU

The Prime Minister continued to assert his authority in the coalition by inviting Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka to address the crowd ahead of him, and ensuring that he spoke last before inviting the President � a sign that he should be ranked higher than the VP in terms of seniority.

The uneasy alliance between the two main partners in the coalition � PNU and ODM � was also highlighted as some of the politicians including a Cabinet minister declared that Rift Valley was an �ODM zone�.

The issue of seniority and perceived bad blood between Mr Musyoka and Mr Odinga first came to the open on Thursday during a reconciliation rally in Eldoret, in which the VP was heckled.

Internal Security minister George Saitoti had invited Mr Odinga to address the gathering but the Premier resisted, pointing to the Vice-President who he wanted to speak first.

However, Mr Odinga reluctantly took to the podium but after his speech, he invited the President to speak, overlooking the Vice-President.

But the President signalled the VP to address the gathering.

In a rather embarrassing scenario, Mr Musyoka�s speech was drowned in jeering and booing from the crowd.

Mr Odinga explained that the coalition government was made up of the himself as the Prime Minister on one side and the President on the other, with the VP on the side of the latter and therefore a rung below on the pecking order.

Mr Odinga blamed protocol officials for the confusion.

�We changed the Constitution, but the protocol people have not changed the order of events. The truth must be told. What we know is that in the coalition government, it is the Prime Minister on one side and the President on the other side. There is no one else between us.�

However, in their second rally in Cherangany, the Premier tactically invited Mr Musyoka to �say a few words� before again taking over and then eventually inviting the President. The same was replicated in Friday’s rallies.

Nominated MP George Nyamweya described the confusion as �political and constitutional protocol�.

�In the constitutional protocol, the VP comes before the PM as the government is said to be constituted of the President, the Vice-President and the Prime Minister, with the two deputies and ministers. �However, in the political protocol, Mr Odinga is superior to Mr Musyoka who was a distant third in the race to State House,� he said.

He noted that the constitutional protocol has largely been applied in the Rift Valley peace rallies.

�To satisfy those unaware of the constitutional protocol, the political protocol could be used,� he said. �Perhaps this should apply more in political rallies�.

Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara said the VP is an appointee of the President and, therefore, his principal assistant while the Premier is in the position by virtue of leading the party with the majority in Parliament.

�Mr Musyoka should accept the fact that in the pecking order, he is junior to Mr Odinga. He should accept that the PM�s authority is clearly defined in the Constitution. He should also accept the fact that, according to the Constitution, the Prime Minister�s appointment is not subject to the President other than for mere formality,� said Mr Imanyara.

Besides, in the current coalition government, Mr Imanyara noted that PM is legally mandated to sit with the President and appoint Cabinet in which the Vice-President serves as minister.

The VP serves at the pleasure of President Kibaki who is Mr Odinga�s coalition partner.

According to the law, the premier is supposed coordinate and supervise ministers. This means that at ministerial level, Mr Musyoka is accountable to Mr Odinga.

But Water and Irrigation minister Charity Ngilu, is convinced that there is no Number One or two in the grand coalition government.

Equal partners

�The Accord we passed recognises the Prime Minister and the President as two equal partners in the coalition government. Mr Musyoka, who is the VP, is nowhere in this equation,� said Ms Ngilu. She said somebody �commanding less than 20 MPs in the House cannot expect the one leading� more than 100 MPs to be junior to him.�

�Somebody is being mischievous here. Somebody is not realising that the Prime Minister took up his position for the sake of peace in this country. That is why without Mr Odinga, the current visit to Rift Valley and Western would not have taken place,� said the minister.

But under the Constitution, the Vice President remains defined as the President�s principal assistant.

Since President Kibaki and Mr Odinga signed� the power sharing deal on February 28, the two partners�Party of National Unity (PNU) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM)�have continued to interpret the coalition differently.

On the PNU side, there is continuous efforts to portray Mr Odinga as third in the pecking order.

On the other hand, ODM members are also keen to project Mr Odinga as the second in command, if not equal ti the president.

The psychological battle was played out in the peace rallies where ODM-allied ministers mentioned Mr Odinga after the President in the order of protocol while their PNU colleagues carefully saluted Mr Musyoka before the Premier.

In March, Head of Public Service� Francis Muthaura, gave a public statement defining the pecking order in the government under the new dispensation in which he placed the Vice-President above the Prime Minister.

Mr Muthaura said according to the Constitution, the Vice President is ranked second to the President and would remain the head of Government Business in Parliament.

However, Mr Odinga and ODM had repeatedly said that PNU and ODM formed a new government and the two partners should be seen on equal terms.

�A grand coalition government brings together two equal partners and we must treat each other with respect. There is no Number One, Number Two or Number Three. We are all number one in one grand coalition government,� he told Parliament recently.

The National Accord and Reconciliation Act that allowed formation of the coalition government was vague on the exact pecking order, and now it appears that the issue of two centres of power that dogged the constitutional review from 2003 to 2005 may be re-awakened.

There is concern within PNU that Mr Odinga could be dealing with donors� directly without the involvement of the other side, a development that could be solidifying his quest for power.

This is why the Sh30 million donation by the American Government to �strengthen� the Premier�s office is said to be sending jitters among PNU politicians.

Equal partners

The two partners have been at pains to assure the public that there is only one government, but the reality is that there could be two governments in one with parallel loyalties..

The burning question now is whether the PNU ministers � some of whom are preparing to contest the presidency in 2012� will allow themselves to be supervised by Mr Odinga, who they will be competing against in the next elections.

There is also anxiety in PNU that Mr Odinga, is keen on taking over power, instead of sharing it and that he may reduce the President to a lame duck.

Mr Musyoka�s ODM Kenya group is also wary that Mr Odinga is pushing the Vice President to the periphery and undermining him, especially after using his slots in the new government to appoint from Ukambani� two assistant ministers, Mr John Harun Mwau and Mrs Wavinya Ndeti, who are Mr Musyoka�s foes.

___________________

African Press International – api

Publisher: Korir, api africanpress@getmail.no

The last few days, Kalonzo Musyoka who is Kenya’s vice president and Raila Odinga who is the prime minister have been fighting behaviourally to make a point on who is senior and closer to President Kibaki.

�Instead of allowing the two men to continue embarrassing the president with their public displays, the president should do something.

One easy way is to have Kalonzo as Vice President only, without having the Ministry of home affairs. Then he will only be next to the president and doing his work without Raila claiming he is above Kalonzo,

Now that Kalonzo also has the ministry of Home affairs, may be that is the thing that makes Raila to assume that Kalonzo although VP, is under him because as PM Raila coordinates the affairs of the ministries including the ministry of Home affairs which is held by vice president Kalonzo.

A few weeks ago, Kenyan leaders were fighting to get to the cabinet. Now instead of using the cabinet authority they have to help the Kenyan people, they dare go around showing off and fighting in public for seniority – a shame.

_____________________

African Press International – api

Publisher: Korir, api africanpress@getmail.no source.standard.ke

They did it again! Fight for seniority and who is to be considered closer to the President. This behaviour will soon bring the Grand Coalition to a colapse. What is the west in the name of the UK and the US ambassadors in Kenya waiting? They always talk loud. Why are they not telling Raila now that the constitution places him under the Vice President. Is Raila going to use muscles to get recognition? Being humble is being a statesman. Kalonzo was clever to cool himself and leave Raila showing off. The Kalenjins they were addressing�are not fools. They know hat the VP is next to the President.

____________________

How far will ODM-PNU go?

Published on April 26, 2008, 12:00 am

The agenda was peace, reconciliation and resettlement, but it ended up with a script straight from the Tower of Babel.

It also put strain on the Grand Coalition as the Electoral Commission of Kenyaannounced June 11, as the date for five parliamentary by-elections and 52 civic wards. With the parties� strength in Parliament separated by less than five seats, the leaders will be on edge either to maintain the lead or outflank the other.

Wherever a minister from Kibaki�s side spoke, his opening line was � President, Vice-President and the Prime Minister. When those Raila fronted for the Cabinet took the podium, they gave the PM the second mention after the President.

With the confusion, and given the palpable fissure between Orange Democratic Movement and Party of National Unity, as well as the pending business, the Six-Million Dollar question popped up: How far will the two parties and their leaders go?

For the second day, and in heart of Rift Valley, scarred by violence and home to the displaced, what started in Eldoret on Thursday played itself out during the entire tour.

Internal Security Minister, in the Party of National Unity�s fashion of the pecking order, invited Raila to speak, so that Kalonzo would take over and invite the President.

Raila, whose interpretation of the National Accord has it that he shares �real� executive power with the President, and so is senior to Kalonzo, took the microphone to ask Kalonzo to speak then he would return. Kalonzo did so but with the rider that he is not bothered by �protocol issues� because there was a more business � the resettling of the displaced.

But in Chebilat, and before President Kibaki, who appears not to have resolved the protocol wars after Eldoret, Raila went a step further. He ended his speech but did not even invite Kalonzo.

That was when Kalonzo went to the microphone �uninvited�, and told the crowd Raila, too, bore the image of traitor he was being accused of.

“I know many felt I betrayed them but we all did � Raila and I. Perhaps it is only President Kibaki who did not do so,” said the VP.

Raila in the end invited the President and made it known to the crowd he was the second in command after President Kibaki, leaving Kalonzo to do the explaining.

In Chebilat market in Sotik, and Kipkelion, where the leaders arrived in four choppers, Kibaki watched from his seat as the drama was replayed to the amusement and surprise of the people waiting for security reassurance.

The President did not, yet again, appear to want to step in between Raila and Kalonzo.

Present were seven members of the Grand Coalition Cabinet that despite its discordant voices has promised the country a new constitution in a year. They were Mr William Ruto (Agriculture), Mr Kipkalya Kones (Roads), Dr Noami Shaban, Prof Sam Ongeri, Mr Samuel Pogishio (Information), Mr Dalmas Otieno (Public Service), and Prof Saitoti (Internal Security), and Sports Minister Prof Hellen Sambili.

The other potentially explosive matters the Grand Coalition Cabinet has to handle, albeit with their different approaches, include justice and restitution for the victims of post-election violence.

In Eldoret, Cherangany, Chebilat and Kipkelion the President did not respond to leaders� call for amnesty for those arrested, and the reinstatement of chiefs sacked for failing to stop the violence.

PNU wants the displaced resettled immediately. ODM leaders argue they still need time to talk to their people to prepare the ground.

The disagreements on the interpretation of the National Accord signed by Raila and Kibaki before the international mediators could be the aftertaste of the �portfolio balance� row in the sharing out of ministries between PNU and ODM.

It also could also be the aftershock of the Public Service reshuffle, which again, contrary to ODM�s expectation, did not scratch beneath the surface.

Raila used the tour to assure the Kipsigis he had not left them out of the sharing of positions.

“You are still represented in the Government. Any minister appointed serves the country and not a community,” he said.

The PM said they were still other positions to be filled and urged the community to be patient.

The other MPs in the tour were Mr Kiprono Langat, Mr Charles Keter, Mr Timothy Lesirma, Mr Orwa Ojode and Mr Wilfred Machage and Mr William Cheptumo.

—————–

Publisher: Korir, api africanpress@getmail.no source.standard.ke

�

�

Publisher: Korir, api africanpress@getmail.no source.standard. ke

When she joined the ministry of finance and planning, Dr Anne Khasakhala had not anticipated becoming a leader in population studies in the country.

UAPS is a bilingual, pan-African and non-profit making organisation whose aim is to promote the scientific study of population in Africa; it was established through an initiative of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) by the Third General Conference of African Demographers, statisticians and planners held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in March 1984.

“I am the second Secretary General from Kenya and hope to leave an indelible mark like my predecessor Prof John Oyaro Oucho, who served from 1990-1993. I hope to adhere to the vision of the Union, which is to become the leader in making population issues central in discourses on human development in Africa.”

Her main objective now is to revive the programmes UAPS had abandoned. “Such programmes like the small grant programme must be brought back.”

UAPS advisory body advises African governments on transforming research into policy and to see how policy makers in Africa can train the next generation on population issues. Khasakhala says her organisation works hand in hand with other regional bodies such as Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the East African Community (EAC) among others. The UAPS has a secretariat based in Accra, Ghana. It is run with membership dues and funds raised from the donor community. The organisation advocates population that matches resources.

Khasakhala is also the Vice chairperson of the Population Association of Kenya. Her career in the field of population started when she was employed as a sectoral planner in charge of Population and Health issues in the Ministry of Planning and National Development, then the Ministry of Finance and Planning in 1982.

At that time she had no formal training in population studies. “However, after one year of joining the ministry, the then Chief Economist Mr Leonard Ngugi called me to his office one Saturday morning and informed me that he had been requested to nominate people for UN scholarships to undertake a Post-graduate diploma in Population Studies tenable at the Regional Institute for Population Studies at the University of Ghana, and that he wanted me to apply.” She applied and was awarded the scholarship. “I can say that I got into the population field by default but I have no regrets,” she laughs.

After successfully completing her studies, she returned back to her job at the Ministry a wiser person who understood what population studies was all about and with an urge to learn more about it. The opportunity came after serving for two years when she was awarded another scholarship by the British Council in 1986 to undertake a masters course in Medical Demography at the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine at the

Centre of Population Studies, which was then headed by one of the Pioneers of Techniques of Demographic Analysis the late Prof William Brass. She again returned to the ministry after completing her studies but left after two years to join the Population Studies and Research Institute at the University of Nairobi where she now teaches.

When in 1996 the Ministry of Education advertised for Commonwealth scholarships for Masters and Phd. She applied and was awarded yet another scholarship to pursue her doctoral studies tenable at the International Institute for Population Sciences Mumbai, India.

“My employer the University of Nairobi granted me study leave to pursue the Phd. I successfully completed in 1999.

“My late Father Edward Eric Khasakhala who was first and foremost an educationist and later a politician is my greatest motivation. He believed in education so much that he facilitated a number of people from Emuhaya constituency to travel to the USA for studies. He was a caring and loving father, who always emphasised the importance of education as the foundation of life. He ensured that all his children were educated,” says the doctor.

�

But there have also been challenges. “One of the biggest challenge I face is how to create synergy between researchers, policy makers, the private sector and development partners in addressing population and development issues in the country. The issues I am referring to include the rate of urbanisation, infrastructure and poverty that may affect progress to achieving the health millenium development goals,” adding, “As you may be aware population scientists deal with three main dynamics of population growth: Fertility, mortality and migration,” she reveals. A major consequence of high fertility has been the swell in the number of youth and the resultant lack of employment opportunities. “That could be one of the reasons you saw the young being used very easily to cause mayhem during the post-election crisis.

She notes: “Another problem is that rapid population increase has had a negative impact on our environment, leading to deforestation, depletion of resources and adverse climatic conditions. Most of these problems could be addressed effectively if population variables were integrated in all aspects of development planning. That is just to mention a few of the challenges. There is need for recognition of the role population scientists can play in all these.”

At the University, Khasakhala is responsible for teaching courses in demographic techniques and population and health to Masters students. She is also involved in supervision of students� theses/projects.

She has been involved in research on adolescent sexuality, fertility and reproductive health. Her research interests are in areas of child health and development, maternal health and social aspects of HIV and Aids as well as adolescent sexuality and health, among others. Her works have been published in Demography India, Journal of African Population Studies and Journal of Biosocial Science and in chapters of the book, A Single Mother.

Khasakhala, a single mother has a son who is crrently studying for his bachelor�s degree in International Adminstration at the United States International University (USIU).

She balances her role as mother and lecturer with the many travels she undertakes to the Secretariat at Accra, and soliciting funds from donors and members.

- princeayoki@yahoo.com

__________________________

African Press International – api

�

�

Publisher: Korir, api africanpress@getmail.no source.standard.ke

By Beauttah Omanga

Political uncertainty in Zimbabwe has begun to affect business in eastern and southern Africa.

The Common Market for East and Southern Africa (Comesa) summit scheduled for next month is the first casualty and has been postponed.

Foreign Affairs minister, Mr Moses Wetangula, said President Kibaki, who is the Comesa summit chairman, cancelled the meeting that was to be held in Zimbabwe between May 13 and 15.

Addressing the Press in his office on Thursday, Wetangula said Kibaki would continue to head the 20-member country organisation. He was expected to hand over the chairmanship to President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.

The country held elections close to a month ago but the electoral commission is yet to release the presidential results. However, parliamentary and civic elections have been made public.

The opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), led by Mr Morgan Tsvingirai, claimed victory, but President Mugabe demanded a recount in 23 constituencies.

The Opposition and the international community have accused Mugabe of using the recount to rig the elections.

Meanwhile, a Kenyan, Mr Mahaboub Mohammed, is the new chief executive of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad).

Wetangula said the former Special Programmes PS is the first Kenyan to hold the post.

“It�s a great honour that Igad member countries settled for a Kenyan as its chief executive,” he said.

Wetangula said Mohammed, who will be based in Djibouti, had accepted the appointment.

Another Kenyan, Mr Erastus Mwencha, who has been the Comesa secretary-general, has been elected the new Africa Union Vice-chairman.

Meanwhile, the Government has asked the Ireland to reopen its mission in Kenya that was closed in 1988.

“It is our request that the mission be opened to boost interaction between the countries for the benefit of the citizens,” said the minister.

Wetangula spoke during a luncheon he organised for his Irish counterpart, Mr Dermot Ahert, and key players in tourism from Ireland and Kenya.

_________________

African Press International – api

�

Publisher: Korir, api africanpress@getmail.no source.nation.ke

Story by DOROTHY KWEYU

When a community nurse in a Kisumu neighbourhood received a phone call from a friend asking her to attend to a very sick sister-in-law, little did she know what awaited.�

�

�

A nurse attends to a mother and her newborn child. Cases of malaria in pregnancy can lead to the death of the prospective mother or the birth of an underweight child. Malaria is considered the leading cause of death in Kenya. Photo/FILE

The patient, Mrs Agnes Oloo*, 23, who had lived in a childless marriage for five years, had all the clinical symptoms of malaria.

�She was running high fever, a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius, and was vomiting a lot,� says the nurse, who requested anonymity because of the drastic decisions she had to make to save the patient�s life.�

�I wanted to refer her to the general hospital, but when she told me that she had earlier been admitted to a private hospital for five days with no improvement, I decided to handle the case as best I knew,� said the 52-year-old nurse.

Mrs Oloo then said she had missed her periods for one month. This prompted the nurse to do a pregnancy test even as she sent a blood sample to the lab for a malaria test.

The pregnancy test turned out positive, as did the malaria test, which showed a parasite load of three plus � very high.

The nurse decided to put Mrs Oloo on a quinine drip, a procedure that should normally be administered in a hospital.�

Happily, Mrs Oloo responded well to the treatment. �She is now very pregnant,� says the nurse with a chuckle.

At Kiboswa Medical Clinic, Lucy Wayodi, a clinical officer, describes malaria among pregnant women as �very bad; it can result in miscarriage.�

�When (malaria) parasites fill the placenta, they make the mother anaemic and can kill the baby,� says Ms Wayodi.�

She advises that serious cases of malaria, especially in pregnancy, be referred to a hospital, because of the high risk of miscarriage or premature birth.

Both Ms Wayodi and the nurse, are part of a Government initiative known as the National Malaria Strategy 2001-2010, which is aimed at fighting malaria as part of the UN decade to roll back malaria.

The initiative targets pregnant women who are at the greatest risk of dying from malaria. It involves distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets to mothers at a highly subsidised cost of Sh50 each.

The division of malaria control in the Public Health Ministry describes malaria as the leading cause of illness and death in Kenya.�

According to officials from the division, 25 million out of the 34 million Kenyans are at risk of contracting malaria. It is estimated that 170 million working days are lost to the disease each year.�

The disease is also responsible for 20 per cent of all deaths of children aged five years and below. The division describes this age group and pregnant women as most vulnerable to malaria.

The management of malaria and anaemia in pregnancy is one of the Government�s key strategies in bringing down the prevalence of the disease, which is endemic in the Lake Victoria region.

In this region, the disease occurs throughout the year unlike in Nairobi, Nyeri and Nakuru which are considered to be malaria-free.

Malaria, which is prevalent across Africa, is caused by Plasmodium falciparum. Africa accounts for 90 per cent of malaria cases globally.�

Although people around the lake region and Coast Province live within areas where malaria is prevalent, women in low malaria transmission areas are at greatest risk of contracting malaria in pregnancy.�

Immunity level

This is because such women have not acquired any significant level of immunity and usually become ill when infected with Plasmodium falciparum.�

Accordingly, they are at a two-or-three times greater risk of developing severe infection than are the non-pregnant women in the same regions.

Malaria kills either directly or indirectly because of the anaemia that the parasite causes in pregnant women. The high fever that an infected woman suffers can result in convulsions, which unless attended to promptly, can result in death.

Miscarriage, death of the newborn and low birth weight are some of the effects of malaria in pregnancy.

The reason why women in low malaria prevalence areas are at higher risk of dying from the disease is that they are most likely to suffer the full symptoms of the disease, including convulsions.�

First symptoms

According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the danger in malaria lies in the fact that its first symptoms (most often fever, chills, sweats, headaches, muscle pains, nausea and vomiting) are often not specific and are also found in other diseases such as the flu and common viral infections.

In the Kisumu area, a doctor�s worst nightmare lies in confusing malaria symptoms with those for typhoid.

Indeed, self-medicating patients have died after taking anti-malaria drugs when they actually needed typhoid treatment. By the time the typhoid, which is also common in the lake region, is diagnosed, the patient�s intestines have been damaged, leading to death.

High temperature, perspiration and fatigue, which are associated with malaria, are also not specific to the disease. Such symptoms are also linked to Aids, which has serious implications in pregnancy and malaria.

In severe malaria, clinical symptoms such as confusion, coma, severe anaemia and respiratory difficulties are more striking and may increase the suspicion index for malaria, says a document from the CDC.

�Thus, in most cases, the early clinical findings in malaria are not typical and need to be confirmed by a laboratory test,� the centre adds.

It is the above symptoms, which are often severe in first-time patients, that make malaria so dangerous for pregnant women in non-endemic area.

Malaria results in low birth weight babies because the parasites feed on the nutrients in the mothers� blood, technically starving the unborn child.�

Child survival is also compromised since such babies are prone to disease compared to others.
Because of the serious implications of malaria on the lives of women and children, the Government and various partners have joined hands to roll back malaria through distribution of mosquito nets.�

The campaign targets pregnant women and mothers with children aged below five years.

Ms Wayodi of Kiboswa, for instance, said that through the Population Services International, they were acquiring insecticide-treated mosquito nets at Sh30, which they sell at Sh50. Retail outlets in Nairobi sell untreated mosquito nets at Sh300 on average.

Compared to the major risks associated with malaria, which go beyond the medical cost of admission to hospital, the cost of treated nets through the Roll Back Malaria initiative is an option that has drastically brought down the prevalence of malaria.

Treated nets

Ms Wayodi confirmed that medics were now recording fewer cases of severe malaria in pregnancy than before the introduction of the insecticide-treated nets.

Coupled with routine coverage of all pregnant women with anti-malarials, the thrust to roll back the disease appears to be bearing fruit.

But there is no room for complacency. As the world marks the malaria day, it is to be hoped that special attention will go towards creating greater community awareness on the dangers the disease poses especially to women and children.�

Such effort should also target the dangerous trend of self-medication, which can be lethal especially in cases of misdiagnosis.

The patient�s name has been withheld at the nurse�s request.

�

Although malaria is a preventable and curable disease, it remains the leading cause of death and illness especially among pregnant women and children aged five years and below.

The disease, which is spread by infected female mosquitoes � anopheles gambiae � kills 34,000 children aged five years and below annually, or 92 children daily.

The disease also leads to the birth of 6,000 underweight babies each year and is the leading cause of anaemia among pregnant women.

Malaria also accounts for 20 per cent of all hospital admissions and between 30 to 50 per cent of outpatients. According to experts, about 25 million people in Kenya are at risk of malaria attacks every year.

In Kenya and other sub-Saharan African countries, the type of malaria parasite commonly found, Plasmodium falciparum, causes a severe, potentially life-threatening infection.

SYMPTOMS OF MALARIA include fever, chills, headache, muscle aches and fatigue. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea may also occur.

Malaria may cause anaemia and jaundice (yellow colouring of the skin and eyes) because of the loss of red blood cells.

Infection by one type of malaria � Plasmodium falciparum � if not promptly treated, may cause kidney failure, seizures, confusion, coma and eventually death.

For most people, symptoms begin 10 days to four weeks after infection, although a person may feel ill as early as eight days or up to one year later.

Two kinds of malaria � Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium ovale � can relapse; some parasites can rest in the liver for several months up to four years after a person has been bitten by an infected mosquito.�

When these parasites come out of hibernation and begin invading the red blood cells, the person will become sick.

Malaria is diagnosed by looking for the parasites in a drop of blood. Blood will be put onto a microscope slide and stained so that the parasites will be visible under a microscope.

EXPERTS ADVISE COMMUNITIES where malaria is prevalent to ensure they sleep under insecticide treated nets for protection against mosquito bites.

Other effective methods of malaria control include indoor residual spraying, screening of houses, environmental management and killing mosquito larvae using pesticides.�

Additional reporting by Mike Mwaniki

____________________

African Press International – api

Publisher: Korir, api africanpress@getmail.no source.aljazeera

Zimbabwe has been gripped by a post-electoral stalemate since polls last month�[EPA]

Publisher: Korir, api africanpress@getmail.no source.mfa.no