Kevin Simiyu | Maseno University (original) (raw)

Papers by Kevin Simiyu

East African medical journal, 1998

OBJECTIVES To establish the types of E. coli isolates that are found in river water around Nairob... more OBJECTIVES To establish the types of E. coli isolates that are found in river water around Nairobi and to assess the potential risk of use of this water to human health. DESIGN Multiple stratified sampling was carried out. Surface sampling was used in the entire study. SETTING The study was carried out on river waters surrounding Nairobi, Kenya. SUBJECTS Forty Escherichia coli strains isolated from river water. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Serotyping, toxin gene tests and susceptibility to tetracyclines, ampicillin, chloramphenicol and kanamycin were analysed. RESULTS None of the isolates could be specifically serotyped using the available antisera. Toxin gene production tests using the colony hybridisation technique revealed that nine (22.5%) of the strains were positive for heat stable (ST) toxin, seven (17.5%) to the heat labile (LT) toxin and two (5%) to both. Using the Agar Disk Diffusion technique, eighty per cent of the strains were susceptible to all four antibiotics, while twenty ...

This study investigated the strategies for enhancing guidance and counselling services in an effo... more This study investigated the strategies for enhancing guidance and counselling services in an effort to mitigate psychosocial distress in Tanzanian Universities. The study adopted a qualitative approach. Multistage and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the study participants. Two universities, two counsellors and two Deans of Students were purposively selected while eighteen students, nine from each university were sampled on the willingness basis for group discussion across the faculties. Data was collected using focus group discussion and interview schedule. For content validity, the inter-raters established the viability of the instruments in view of the research question. Reliability was ensured through multiple data collection instruments. Data was analyzed thematically. The study established that peer counselling programs were not formalized in universities in Tanzania. It can also be concluded that students were not informed about the availability and benefits of guidance and counselling services available in universities and the guidance and counselling departments were underfunded by the universities. Moreover, the counsellors were not professionally trained in counselling. The study recommended that Universities should employ professional counsellors, adequately fund the guidance and counselling services for efficient services. Besides, orientation programs should include informing new students about available guidance and counselling services on campuses.

Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 2016

Procurement in the Government ministries in Kenya has passed through many stages and made various... more Procurement in the Government ministries in Kenya has passed through many stages and made various strides to enhance its operations so that members and the general public are benefiting in a broad perspective. Although the government has been involved in streamlining the procurement system in government ministries, it is marred by inefficiencies. The study was meant to investigate the factors affecting procurement of goods in government ministries a case study of The National Treasury. The study looked at the past literature on the procurement effectiveness with emphasis in the government ministries. The research used simple stratified sampling and the target population was 450 personnel from various departments at The National Treasury and the sample size was 45. This was 10% of the target population. The study used primary data as its source of information and questionnaires as the main instrument of data collection. The data was analyzed using qualitative and quantitative techniq...

SUMMARY: Fluoride determinations were made with a fluoride ion selective electrode on 60 river wa... more SUMMARY: Fluoride determinations were made with a fluoride ion selective electrode on 60 river water samples collected at readily accessible sites in Central and Nairobi provinces of Kenya. The highest fluoride concentration was 0.85 ppm in Laikipia District and the lowest was 0.08 ppm in Murang'a District. By region and district, the mean fluoride concentration ranged from 0.12 ppm for

Science, 2011

Chakma and Sammut outline the typical paradigm for venture capital investment: The primary object... more Chakma and Sammut outline the typical paradigm for venture capital investment: The primary objective is to achieve high financial returns for its investors. Because of the risks involved, these investments are likely to occur after an initial seed funding. We do not propose a typical stand-alone

BMC International Health and Human Rights, 2010

Background: While venture funding has been applied to biotechnology and health in high-income cou... more Background: While venture funding has been applied to biotechnology and health in high-income countries, it is still nascent in these fields in developing countries, and particularly in Africa. Yet the need for implementing innovative solutions to health challenges is greatest in Africa, with its enormous burden of communicable disease. Issues such as risk, investment opportunities, return on investment requirements, and quantifying health impact are critical in assessing venture capital's potential for supporting health innovation. This paper uses lessons learned from five venture capital firms from Kenya, South Africa, China, India, and the US to suggest design principles for African health venture funds. Discussion: The case study method was used to explore relevant funds, and lessons for the African context. The health venture funds in this study included publicly-owned organizations, corporations, social enterprises, and subsidiaries of foreign venture firms. The size and type of investments varied widely. The primary investor in four funds was the International Finance Corporation. Three of the funds aimed primarily for financial returns, one aimed primarily for social and health returns, and one had mixed aims. Lessons learned include the importance of measuring and supporting both social and financial returns; the need to engage both upstream capital such as government risk-funding and downstream capital from the private sector; and the existence of many challenges including difficulty of raising capital, low human resource capacity, regulatory barriers, and risky business environments. Based on these lessons, design principles for appropriate venture funding are suggested. Summary: Based on the cases studied and relevant experiences elsewhere, there is a case for venture funding as one support mechanism for science-based African health innovation, with opportunities for risk-tolerant investors to make financial as well as social returns. Such funds should be structured to overcome the challenges identified, be sustainable in the long run, attract for-profit private sector funds, and have measurable and significant health impact. If this is done, the proposed venture approach may have complementary benefits to existing initiatives and encourage local scientific and economic development while tapping new sources of funding.

Science (New York, N.Y.), Jan 10, 2010

Commercializing technologies may help alleviate some of sub-Saharan Africa's health and econo... more Commercializing technologies may help alleviate some of sub-Saharan Africa's health and economic problems. In Madina village, outside Accra, Ghana, children tease each other about whose urine has a redder color. Apart from being strikingly thin, they look healthy. Yet they could be affected by Schistosoma haematobium (1), a parasitic disease common in Africa, where local prevalence rates can exceed 50% (2). Early diagnosis ensures inexpensive and effective treatment and prevents stunted growth and developmental disabilities in children and bladder cancer or other organ damage in adults (3). But the standard method of detecting the disease, microscopic identification of eggs in urine or stool, requires patients to visit a hospital laboratory, something not practical for many people living in rural Ghana.

East African medical journal, 1998

To establish the types of E. coli isolates that are found in river water around Nairobi and to as... more To establish the types of E. coli isolates that are found in river water around Nairobi and to assess the potential risk of use of this water to human health. Multiple stratified sampling was carried out. Surface sampling was used in the entire study. The study was carried out on river waters surrounding Nairobi, Kenya. Forty Escherichia coli strains isolated from river water. Serotyping, toxin gene tests and susceptibility to tetracyclines, ampicillin, chloramphenicol and kanamycin were analysed. None of the isolates could be specifically serotyped using the available antisera. Toxin gene production tests using the colony hybridisation technique revealed that nine (22.5%) of the strains were positive for heat stable (ST) toxin, seven (17.5%) to the heat labile (LT) toxin and two (5%) to both. Using the Agar Disk Diffusion technique, eighty per cent of the strains were susceptible to all four antibiotics, while twenty per cent of the strains showed multiple resistance. None of the s...

SAGE Open, 2011

This study examined the salient characteristics of trained ineffective teachers in secondary scho... more This study examined the salient characteristics of trained ineffective teachers in secondary schools in Kenya. Participants comprised 80 students from eight schools drawn from four provinces in the country. Of the 80 participants, 40 were females and 40 were males. This qualitative research adopted phenomenological design. Two research instruments—a biographical form and a blank sheet of paper—were used in data collection. Content analysis method was used in analyzing the written and nonquantitative data collected. Results of data analysis revealed 20 salient characteristics of trained ineffective teachers in secondary schools. These characteristics are as follows: wastage of students’ time, poor mastery of the subject, source of boredom to students, partial treatment of students, lack of respect for students, low level of self-confidence, poor mastery of teaching skills, emotional immaturity, inappropriate dressing, injurious to students, fond of frivolous talk, miscommunicate in c...

BMC International Health and Human Rights, 2010

BACKGROUND: A traditional pathway for developing new health products begins with public research ... more BACKGROUND: A traditional pathway for developing new health products begins with public research institutes generating new knowledge, and ends with the private sector translating this knowledge into new ventures. But while public research institutes are key drivers of basic research in sub-Saharan Africa, the private sector is inadequately prepared to commercialize ideas that emerge from these institutes, resulting in these

Medical and …, 2002

Participatory research on bovine trypanosomiasis was conducted with Orma pastoralists in Tana Riv... more Participatory research on bovine trypanosomiasis was conducted with Orma pastoralists in Tana River District, Kenya. The use of participatory methods to understand local perceptions of disease signs, disease causes, disease incidence by cattle age group, seasonal patterns of disease and preferences for indigenous and modern control methods are described. Results indicated that local character¬ization of diseases called gandi and buku by Orma pastoralists was similar to modern veterinary knowledge on chronic trypanosomiasis and haemorrhagic trypanosomiasis (due to Trypanosoma vivax), respectively. The mean incidence of gandi varied from 10.2% in calves to 28.6% in adult cattle. The mean incidence of buku varied from 3.1 % in calves to 9.6% in adults. Pearson correlation coefficients for disease incidence by age group were 0.498 (P < 0.01) and 0.396 (P < 0.05) for gandi and buku, respectively. Informants observed cases of trypanosomiasis in 24.1 % of cattle (all age groups); these cases accounted for 41.8% of all sick cattle during the preceding 12-month period. Eight indigenous and three modern trypanosomiasis control methods were identified. Results indicated that an inte¬grated approach to trypanosomiasis control based on private, individual action was well established in the assessment area. When presented with four different trypanosomiasis control methods, community representatives selected 'better use of trypanocides' as the most preferred intervention and 'community-based tsetse control' as the least preferred intervention. This finding prompted researchers to modify the original project activities. Constraints facing the sustainability of community-based tsetse control are discussed.

East African medical journal, 1998

OBJECTIVES To establish the types of E. coli isolates that are found in river water around Nairob... more OBJECTIVES To establish the types of E. coli isolates that are found in river water around Nairobi and to assess the potential risk of use of this water to human health. DESIGN Multiple stratified sampling was carried out. Surface sampling was used in the entire study. SETTING The study was carried out on river waters surrounding Nairobi, Kenya. SUBJECTS Forty Escherichia coli strains isolated from river water. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Serotyping, toxin gene tests and susceptibility to tetracyclines, ampicillin, chloramphenicol and kanamycin were analysed. RESULTS None of the isolates could be specifically serotyped using the available antisera. Toxin gene production tests using the colony hybridisation technique revealed that nine (22.5%) of the strains were positive for heat stable (ST) toxin, seven (17.5%) to the heat labile (LT) toxin and two (5%) to both. Using the Agar Disk Diffusion technique, eighty per cent of the strains were susceptible to all four antibiotics, while twenty ...

This study investigated the strategies for enhancing guidance and counselling services in an effo... more This study investigated the strategies for enhancing guidance and counselling services in an effort to mitigate psychosocial distress in Tanzanian Universities. The study adopted a qualitative approach. Multistage and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the study participants. Two universities, two counsellors and two Deans of Students were purposively selected while eighteen students, nine from each university were sampled on the willingness basis for group discussion across the faculties. Data was collected using focus group discussion and interview schedule. For content validity, the inter-raters established the viability of the instruments in view of the research question. Reliability was ensured through multiple data collection instruments. Data was analyzed thematically. The study established that peer counselling programs were not formalized in universities in Tanzania. It can also be concluded that students were not informed about the availability and benefits of guidance and counselling services available in universities and the guidance and counselling departments were underfunded by the universities. Moreover, the counsellors were not professionally trained in counselling. The study recommended that Universities should employ professional counsellors, adequately fund the guidance and counselling services for efficient services. Besides, orientation programs should include informing new students about available guidance and counselling services on campuses.

Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 2016

Procurement in the Government ministries in Kenya has passed through many stages and made various... more Procurement in the Government ministries in Kenya has passed through many stages and made various strides to enhance its operations so that members and the general public are benefiting in a broad perspective. Although the government has been involved in streamlining the procurement system in government ministries, it is marred by inefficiencies. The study was meant to investigate the factors affecting procurement of goods in government ministries a case study of The National Treasury. The study looked at the past literature on the procurement effectiveness with emphasis in the government ministries. The research used simple stratified sampling and the target population was 450 personnel from various departments at The National Treasury and the sample size was 45. This was 10% of the target population. The study used primary data as its source of information and questionnaires as the main instrument of data collection. The data was analyzed using qualitative and quantitative techniq...

SUMMARY: Fluoride determinations were made with a fluoride ion selective electrode on 60 river wa... more SUMMARY: Fluoride determinations were made with a fluoride ion selective electrode on 60 river water samples collected at readily accessible sites in Central and Nairobi provinces of Kenya. The highest fluoride concentration was 0.85 ppm in Laikipia District and the lowest was 0.08 ppm in Murang&amp;#39;a District. By region and district, the mean fluoride concentration ranged from 0.12 ppm for

Science, 2011

Chakma and Sammut outline the typical paradigm for venture capital investment: The primary object... more Chakma and Sammut outline the typical paradigm for venture capital investment: The primary objective is to achieve high financial returns for its investors. Because of the risks involved, these investments are likely to occur after an initial seed funding. We do not propose a typical stand-alone

BMC International Health and Human Rights, 2010

Background: While venture funding has been applied to biotechnology and health in high-income cou... more Background: While venture funding has been applied to biotechnology and health in high-income countries, it is still nascent in these fields in developing countries, and particularly in Africa. Yet the need for implementing innovative solutions to health challenges is greatest in Africa, with its enormous burden of communicable disease. Issues such as risk, investment opportunities, return on investment requirements, and quantifying health impact are critical in assessing venture capital's potential for supporting health innovation. This paper uses lessons learned from five venture capital firms from Kenya, South Africa, China, India, and the US to suggest design principles for African health venture funds. Discussion: The case study method was used to explore relevant funds, and lessons for the African context. The health venture funds in this study included publicly-owned organizations, corporations, social enterprises, and subsidiaries of foreign venture firms. The size and type of investments varied widely. The primary investor in four funds was the International Finance Corporation. Three of the funds aimed primarily for financial returns, one aimed primarily for social and health returns, and one had mixed aims. Lessons learned include the importance of measuring and supporting both social and financial returns; the need to engage both upstream capital such as government risk-funding and downstream capital from the private sector; and the existence of many challenges including difficulty of raising capital, low human resource capacity, regulatory barriers, and risky business environments. Based on these lessons, design principles for appropriate venture funding are suggested. Summary: Based on the cases studied and relevant experiences elsewhere, there is a case for venture funding as one support mechanism for science-based African health innovation, with opportunities for risk-tolerant investors to make financial as well as social returns. Such funds should be structured to overcome the challenges identified, be sustainable in the long run, attract for-profit private sector funds, and have measurable and significant health impact. If this is done, the proposed venture approach may have complementary benefits to existing initiatives and encourage local scientific and economic development while tapping new sources of funding.

Science (New York, N.Y.), Jan 10, 2010

Commercializing technologies may help alleviate some of sub-Saharan Africa's health and econo... more Commercializing technologies may help alleviate some of sub-Saharan Africa's health and economic problems. In Madina village, outside Accra, Ghana, children tease each other about whose urine has a redder color. Apart from being strikingly thin, they look healthy. Yet they could be affected by Schistosoma haematobium (1), a parasitic disease common in Africa, where local prevalence rates can exceed 50% (2). Early diagnosis ensures inexpensive and effective treatment and prevents stunted growth and developmental disabilities in children and bladder cancer or other organ damage in adults (3). But the standard method of detecting the disease, microscopic identification of eggs in urine or stool, requires patients to visit a hospital laboratory, something not practical for many people living in rural Ghana.

East African medical journal, 1998

To establish the types of E. coli isolates that are found in river water around Nairobi and to as... more To establish the types of E. coli isolates that are found in river water around Nairobi and to assess the potential risk of use of this water to human health. Multiple stratified sampling was carried out. Surface sampling was used in the entire study. The study was carried out on river waters surrounding Nairobi, Kenya. Forty Escherichia coli strains isolated from river water. Serotyping, toxin gene tests and susceptibility to tetracyclines, ampicillin, chloramphenicol and kanamycin were analysed. None of the isolates could be specifically serotyped using the available antisera. Toxin gene production tests using the colony hybridisation technique revealed that nine (22.5%) of the strains were positive for heat stable (ST) toxin, seven (17.5%) to the heat labile (LT) toxin and two (5%) to both. Using the Agar Disk Diffusion technique, eighty per cent of the strains were susceptible to all four antibiotics, while twenty per cent of the strains showed multiple resistance. None of the s...

SAGE Open, 2011

This study examined the salient characteristics of trained ineffective teachers in secondary scho... more This study examined the salient characteristics of trained ineffective teachers in secondary schools in Kenya. Participants comprised 80 students from eight schools drawn from four provinces in the country. Of the 80 participants, 40 were females and 40 were males. This qualitative research adopted phenomenological design. Two research instruments—a biographical form and a blank sheet of paper—were used in data collection. Content analysis method was used in analyzing the written and nonquantitative data collected. Results of data analysis revealed 20 salient characteristics of trained ineffective teachers in secondary schools. These characteristics are as follows: wastage of students’ time, poor mastery of the subject, source of boredom to students, partial treatment of students, lack of respect for students, low level of self-confidence, poor mastery of teaching skills, emotional immaturity, inappropriate dressing, injurious to students, fond of frivolous talk, miscommunicate in c...

BMC International Health and Human Rights, 2010

BACKGROUND: A traditional pathway for developing new health products begins with public research ... more BACKGROUND: A traditional pathway for developing new health products begins with public research institutes generating new knowledge, and ends with the private sector translating this knowledge into new ventures. But while public research institutes are key drivers of basic research in sub-Saharan Africa, the private sector is inadequately prepared to commercialize ideas that emerge from these institutes, resulting in these

Medical and …, 2002

Participatory research on bovine trypanosomiasis was conducted with Orma pastoralists in Tana Riv... more Participatory research on bovine trypanosomiasis was conducted with Orma pastoralists in Tana River District, Kenya. The use of participatory methods to understand local perceptions of disease signs, disease causes, disease incidence by cattle age group, seasonal patterns of disease and preferences for indigenous and modern control methods are described. Results indicated that local character¬ization of diseases called gandi and buku by Orma pastoralists was similar to modern veterinary knowledge on chronic trypanosomiasis and haemorrhagic trypanosomiasis (due to Trypanosoma vivax), respectively. The mean incidence of gandi varied from 10.2% in calves to 28.6% in adult cattle. The mean incidence of buku varied from 3.1 % in calves to 9.6% in adults. Pearson correlation coefficients for disease incidence by age group were 0.498 (P < 0.01) and 0.396 (P < 0.05) for gandi and buku, respectively. Informants observed cases of trypanosomiasis in 24.1 % of cattle (all age groups); these cases accounted for 41.8% of all sick cattle during the preceding 12-month period. Eight indigenous and three modern trypanosomiasis control methods were identified. Results indicated that an inte¬grated approach to trypanosomiasis control based on private, individual action was well established in the assessment area. When presented with four different trypanosomiasis control methods, community representatives selected 'better use of trypanocides' as the most preferred intervention and 'community-based tsetse control' as the least preferred intervention. This finding prompted researchers to modify the original project activities. Constraints facing the sustainability of community-based tsetse control are discussed.