Browsing by Author "Chege, P."

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
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    Benefits of Slum Tourism in Kibera Slum in Nairobi, Kenya
    (2013) Chege, P.; Mwisukha, A.
    The study focused on assessing slum tourism as a viable tourism option. The objectives were to: determine the main tourism attraction in Kibera slum, establish the perceptions of Kibera’s slum dwellers, Kenya Tourism Board and Victoria Safaris towards slum tourism, determine the benefits of slum tourism to Kibera slum dwellers. The exploratory and descriptive survey research design was used. The target population of the study was 800,000 residents of Kibera slum who live in a total of 12 villages, 160 employees of Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) and 38 employees of Victoria Safaris. The sample size was 472 respondents, 384 from Kibera, 50 from KTB and 38 from Victoria Safaris. Simple random sampling was used to select 6 (50%) villages in Kibera. Snowball sampling method was then used to select respondents in those six villages. The initial subjects were identified using purposive technique. The subjects from the KTB were selected using convenient sampling method while all subjects from Victoria Safaris participated. Data was collected by the use of questionnaire. A pilot study was run in Kisumu dogo slum village. Reliability of the instrument was determined during the pilot study using test re-test technique. There was a strong liking for slum tourism across all categories as majority, 396 (83.9%), view it as beneficial to the slum residents in improving their living conditions. Observing residents’ life style and taking photographs were identified as major tourist activities in Kibera slum. The study recommends that there should be a deeper participation of residents in running and making decisions on slum tours to increase benefits to the residents. There is also need for government to develop a policy whose aim is to guide on ways of conducting slum tours. There is also need for Ministry of Tourism to educate the residents on how to take advantage of the venture and open up businesses like tour firms and how to provide other services in order to reap the benefits of slum tourism.
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    Changes in Nutrient Content for β-Carotene, Iron and Zinc in Solar Dried and Stored Amaranthus cruentus Vegetables
    (International Journal of Agriculture Innovations and Research, 2014) Nyambaka, H. N.; Chege, P.; Kuria, E. N.; Kimiywe, Judith
    There is increasing need to store the nutrient rich amaranth leaves which are plenty during the wet season for use in dry season, but there is little information on the micronutrient stability on storage of vegetables produced in dry areas meant to bridge the seasonal gap. The stored dry leaves can be utilized during dry season by mixing them with cereal flours for making porridge for children under five who are vulnerable to micronutrient deficiency. The aim was to assess the changes in nutrient content of solar dried amaranth leaves within nine months of storage at ambient condition for the purpose of bridging the seasonal gap. Amaranth leaves were solar dried and ground into powder and stored for nine months. Regular testing of nutrients retention (β-carotene, iron and zinc) was done after every three months. The content of β - carotene was established using UV–VIS Spectrophotoscopy method while for iron and zinc analysis atomic absorption spectophotometry. Results showed that the mean losses of nutrients was 3.7±0.04, 1.4±0.03 and 0.69±0.04 for β-carotene, iron and zinc which translated to a percentage loss of 9.1%, 2.0% and 2.8%, respectively after nine months storage. The study noted no significant change (P>0.05) in the nutritional contents of β-carotene, iron and zinc. The concentration of β-carotene, iron and zinc remained relatively stable as shown by small fluctuations of nutrients. Dried amaranth leaves retain adequate nutrients when stored for nine months and thus can fill the seasonal gap
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    A comparative study on dietary practices, morbidity patterns and nutrition status of HIV/AIDS infected and non-infected pre-school children in Kibera slum, Kenya
    (2012-09-24) Chege, P.; Kuria, E. N.; Kimiywe, Judith
    Objectives: The impact of HIV and associated opportunistic infections compounded by inappropriate dietary practices among children leads to under nutrition and micronutrient deficiencies associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. This study determined the dietary practices, morbidity patterns and nutrition status of HIV/AIDS infected and non-infected pre-school children in Kibera slums. Methodology and results: A comparative descriptive design was used to conduct a study in May 2005 among 64 HIV/AIDS infected and 64 non-infected pre-school children in Kibera slum. Data was obtained a researcher administered questionnaire and focus group discussion guides. Results indicated that the average number of meals consumed per day was 3.4. The consumption of cereals, vegetables, fruits and animal products were irregular. Except for fat, intake of macronutrients and micronutrients were inadequate. The main illnesses were malaria, cold, cough and pneumonia which manifested as fever, diarrhea, vomiting and loss of appetite. A total of 44, 33 and 52% of the infected children were stunted, wasted and underweight as compared to 22, 21 and 17%, respectively, for the non-infected group. The education level of the caregiver, amount of kilocalories taken, and number of meals taken per day, household size and morbidity patterns of the children significantly affected the nutrition status. The children’s poor nutrition status was due to poor dietary practices. This was compounded by the effect of the manifestations of various infections like diarrhea, vomiting, fever and loss of appetite which deteriorated the nutrition status. There was no significant difference between the number of meals per day (p = 0.061), amount of kilocalories taken per day (p = 0.093) for the two groups. However, there was a significance difference in the number of sick (p = 0.048), wasted (p = 0.043), stunted (p = 0.035) and underweight (p = 0.028) children for the two groups. The significant difference in morbidity patterns and nutrition status was due to opportunistic infections which increases nutrient needs. The infected children were frequently ill with the manifestations of the infections lasting longer. Conclusions and application of the findings: The study recommends the use of nutrient dense products to provide more nutrients as needed, educating caregivers on nutritional management of HIV patients and initiating income generating activities to improve food security in the study areas.
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    Context-specific complementary feeding recommendations developed using Optifood could improve the diets of breast-fed infants and young children from diverse livelihood groups in northern Kenya
    (Cambridge University Press, 2016) Vossenaar, Marieke; Knight, Frances A.; Tumilowicz, Alison; Hotz, Christine; Chege, P.; Ferguson, Elaine L.
    Objective: To formulate age- and context-specific complementary feeding recommendations (CFR) for infants and young children (IYC) and to compare the potential of filling population-level nutrient gaps using common sets of CFR across age groups. Design: Linear programming was used to develop CFR using locally available and acceptable foods based on livelihood- and age-group-specific dietary patterns observed through 24 h dietary recalls. Within each livelihood group, the nutrient potential of age-group-specific v. consolidated CFR across the three age groups was tested. Setting: Three food-insecure counties in northern Kenya; namely, settled communities from Isiolo (n 300), pastoralist communities from Marsabit (n 283) and agro-pastoralist communities from Turkana (n 299). Subjects: Breast-fed IYC aged 6–23 months (n 882). Results: Age-specific CFR could achieve adequacy for seven to nine of eleven modelled micronutrients, except among 12–23-month-old children in agro-pastoralist communities. Contribution of Fe, Zn and niacin remained low for most groups, and thiamin, vitamin B6 and folate for some groups. Age-group-consolidated CFR could not reach the same level of nutrient adequacy as age-specific sets among the settled and pastoralist communities. Conclusions: Context- and age-specific CFR could ensure adequate levels of more modelled nutrients among settled and pastoralist IYC than among agro-pastoralist communities where use of nutrient-dense foods was limited. Adequacy of all eleven modelled micronutrients was not achievable and additional approaches to ensure adequate diets are required. Consolidated messages should be easier to implement as part of a behaviour change strategy; however, they would likely not achieve the same improvements in population-level dietary adequacy as age-specific CFR.
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    Physiochemical, Proximate Composition and Microbial Quality of a Novel Probiotic Yoghurt Fortified with Purple-Leaf Tea (Camelias Sinensis)
    (AJFAND, 2024-12) Mucheru, P.; Chege, P.; Muchiri, M.
    With the increasing demand of health promoting food products, formulations of yoghurts are changing more towards live probiotic starter culture milk fermentation and fortification with plant-based food ingredients to improve the flavour and nutrition composition. Synbiotic yoghurts fermented with probiotic microbes and fortified with prebiotic food ingredients have become very popular as functional foods due to their scientifically proven bioactive compounds that promote human gut health and alleviate dysbiosis. The aim of the current study therefore, was to assess the physiochemical, nutritional proximate composition and viability of probiotics in formulated yoghurt fortified with a novel purple-leaf tea (Camelias sinensis) puree that is rich in anthocyanins, bioactive polyphenols. Whole milk was fermented with probiotic starter culture (Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA-5), Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis -ABT 5) from CH Hansens Limited. Subsequently, the yoghurt was fortified with a novel purple tea puree at the Food and Tea Science Workshop of Karatina University, Kenya. Proximate composition and physiochemical properties (pH and mineral salts profile) were analyzed both in the formulated probiotic yoghurt (PYFPT) and control yoghurt without the tea puree. The viability of the probiotic colony forming microbes was determined using the De Man, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) anaerobic bacteria selective culturing agar media. The pH results of PYFPT (4.24 ± 0.04) was not significantly different (p< 0.05) to that of the control yoghurt even after 28 days of refrigerated storage. However, proximate composition recorded significant differences except for the crude fiber content (0.01 ± 0.01 %). A higher percent moisture content and crude lipid was recorded in the control yoghurt (88.18±0.01 and (2.11 ± 0.02) than the PYFPT (78.14±0.04 and 1.33 ± 0.09). Inversely, higher percentage of crude protein, carbohydrates and crude mineral salts were recorded in the formulated PYFPT (7.96±0.27, 11.17±0.25; 0.81±) than control yoghurt (4.23±0.01, 5.44±0.04, 0.59±0.01). A profile of ash content of the added purple tea puree recorded 16 different mineral salts. The macro minerals were the major, with potassium recording the highest content (282 ppm), followed by sodium (121 ppm), magnesium (97.2 ppm) and calcium (96.4 ppm). The microbial anaerobic probiotic count (6.14 - 6.80 log CFU/ml) was not statistically and significantly different between the PYFPT and the control yoghurt after 28 days of refrigerated storage. In conclusion, the study demonstrated that it is feasible to formulate nutritious probiotic yoghurt fortified using purple-leaf tea puree with potential for commercialization.
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    Relationship between maternal knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding and breastfeeding practices among mothers with infants (0-6 months) in Kibera slums, Nairobi county, Nenya
    (International Journal of Health Sciences and Research, 2016) Mucheru, P.; Waudo, Judith N.; Chege, P.
    Background: Breast feeding is the best known way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of the infants. Exclusive breastfeeding has been demonstrated to have profound benefits both short-term and long-term to the mother and the infant. Despite the strong evidence on the benefits, recommended breastfeeding practices still remains low in urban slums. Women in urban poor settings usually face complex situations concerning breastfeeding due multiple challenges frequently dictated to them by their circumstances and context. Research has demonstrated that breastfeeding practices are associated with maternal knowledge. This study therefore was aimed at assessing the relationship between maternal knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding and breastfeeding practices among mothers with infants aged 0-6 months in Kibera slum. Materials and Methods: This study adopted a cross-sectional analytical study which consisted of 293 mother-infant pairs attending health facilities within Kibera slum. Results: Study findings revealed majority of the respondents (98.3%) knew that exclusive breastfeeding was beneficial and (60.8%) had high knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding. However, only (19.2%) knew the benefits of colostrum. The rate of exclusive breastfeeding practice was 60.8% and mothers who initiated breastfeeding at the recommended time were 73.4%. However, about half (44.7%) of the mothers still gave post-lacteal feeds regardless of the high knowledge. The results further showed that only the practice on introduction to food was significantly associated with maternal knowledge. Nevertheless, other practices were not significantly associated with maternal knowledge. Conclusions: Maternal knowledge has been found to associate with exclusive breastfeeding and breastfeeding practices. However it is good to note that high maternal knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding does not necessarily translate into practices.
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    Retention of Β- Carotene, Iron and Zinc in Solar Dried Amaranth Leaves in Kajiado County, Kenya
    (Global Society of Scientific Research and Researchers, 2014) Chege, P.; Kuria, E. N.; Kimiywe, Judith; Nyambaka, H. N.
    Amaranth is one of the underutilized vegetable with high nutritive value. Availability of amaranth leaves is seasonal and therefore preservation for use in other seasons is necessary. Solar drying is one of the recommended methods for vegetable preservation. Minimal information exists on nutrient content of amaranth leaves grown in dry areas. There is also scarce information on the effect of solar drying on the β – carotene, iron and zinc in amaranth leaves. The amaranth leaves were obtained from Kajiado County, an arid area. The β - carotene in fresh and solar dried amaranth leaves were analyzed using UV-VIS Spectrophotoscopy, while iron and zinc using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). Results show that, the nutrient content for β- carotene, iron and zinc in fresh amaranth leaves was 5.75 ± 0.04 SD, 8.47 ± 0.05 SD and 3.18 ± 0.04 SD mg/100 g, respectively. This changed to 4.46 ± 0.04 SD, 7.98 ± 0.02 SD and 3.03 ± 0.03 SD with solar drying. This indicates retention of 77.5%, 94.3%, and 95.4% for β-carotene, iron and zinc, respectively. There was no significant (P> 0.05) change in β-carotene, iron and zinc with solar drying. Solar drying also led to high concentration of nutrients per unit where the amount of β-carotene, iron and zinc in 100 grams of solar dried leaves was noted as 40.11 ± 3.21 SD, 71.85 ± 6.93 SD and 27.28 ± 1.43 SD mg/100 g, respectively. This study recommends the use of solar drying to preserve the amaranth leaves.
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    Zinc, iron and calcium are major limiting nutrients in the complementary diets of rural Kenyan children
    (JohnWiley & Sons Ltd, 2016) Ferguson, E.; Chege, P.; Kimiywe, J.; Wiesmann, D.; Hotz, C.
    Poor quality infant and young child (IYC) diets contribute to chronic under-nutrition. To design effective IYC nutrition interventions, an understanding of the extent to which realistic food-based strategies can improve dietary adequacy is required. We collected 24-h dietary recalls from children 6–23months of age (n=401) in two rural agro-ecological zones of Kenya to assess the nutrient adequacy of their diets. Linear programming analysis (LPA) was used to identify realistic food-based recommendations (FBRs) and to determine the extent to which they could ensure intake adequacy for 12 nutrients. Mean nutrient densities of the IYC diets were belowthe desired level for four to nine of the 10 nutrients analysed, depending on the age group.Mean dietary diversity scores ranged from 2.1 ± 1.0 among children 6–8months old in KituiCounty to 3.7± 1.1 food groups among children 12–23months old in Vihiga County. LPA confirmed that dietary adequacy for iron, zinc and calcium will be difficult to ensure using only local foods as consumed. FBRs for breastfed children that promote the daily consumption of cows’/goats’ milk (added to porridges), fortified cereals, green leafy vegetables, legumes, and meat, fish or eggs, 3–5 times per week can ensure dietary adequacy for nine and seven of 12 nutrients for children 6–11 and 12–23months old, respectively. For these rural Kenyan children, even though dietary adequacy could be improved via realistic changes in habitual food consumption practices, alternative interventions are needed to ensure dietary adequacy at the population level.