On many social media platforms in Kenya, there are many unusual jokes these days. Some credit the restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the rise in creativity.
>But one of the more outstanding of those jokes is the allegation that the desert locusts that invaded the country and the rest of the Horn of Africa in December 2019, are currently ‘working from home’.

This is no doubt a comic reference to the very real tragedy that this unfolding disaster has been relegated to the back banner since the country started grappling with COVID-19.

There is no doubt that the novel coronavirus that first broke out in China in late 2019, has wrong-footed the whole world. There is no disputing either, that the pandemic is, in many ways, unprecedented. Never in the history of the world has one single threat engulfed the entire globe all at the same time with such disastrous consequences. Every nation is currently dealing with the virus in its own way, aside from the near-universal measures such as hand-washing, social distancing and other aspects of hygiene. Each country is setting its context-specific approaches not just in dealing with the pandemic but also in mapping out the post COVID-19 scenarios.

In Kenya, the economy has already taken a major hit and growth predictions are now tending towards the range of two percent in 2020, or worse if the situation persists. Food, which was already getting out of reach for many Kenyans even before COVID-19, continues to elude many families. And with job losses and pay cuts now the new norm, food shortages will no doubt follow as a matter of course.

That is why the issue of locusts – whose activities, by the way, have not been disrupted by COVID-19, must never go off the government’s radar. These insects are generally considered to be the most destructive migratory pest in the world with each locust capable of consuming as much as its body weight (***~2g***) in a day. Further, the locusts can form huge swarms sometimes as large as ***150 million per square kilometre***. Their mobility too poses a huge challenge for containment efforts. They can travel for between 100 and 200 kilometres each day. Further, in the arid areas, their movement is aided by winds which can carry them afloat for up to 17 hours.

@[youtube](BGjSSt8HqS0)

***Locust Invasion in Moiben, Uasin Gishu County | Wanon Media***

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Desert Locust Situation Update, Kenya faces the risk of an impending second wave of locust infestation which will be twenty times worse than the initial invasion. Experts believe that the heavy rainfall that was experienced in the region in March, coupled with favorable soil conditions offered the perfect opportunity for the pests to lay their eggs. New hopper bands will be hatched this month with swarms of winged adults expected to go on the rampage in June and July. And the rainfall that has resumed in many parts of the country, has made sure that these newly hatched locusts have sufficient food to sustain them before they potentially head to some of Kenya’s productive agricultural areas. 

The Ministry of Agriculture says it has not yet quantified the damaged cause by the locusts but estimate they have brought losses of about 70 % to the vegetation in the affected regions. In Isiolo, for instance, 3,150 square kilometres of pasture land has been completely consumed forcing pastoralists to seek alternatives in neighboring counties.

![crisis-desertlocust-hoa-24993_0038.jpg](https://api.wanonmedia.com/media/624c0ce3-d7c6-498c-96fe-8b5ff921f380.jpg)

***Courtesy: FAO***

In the first infestation spanning more than **20 counties**, ***70,000 hectares*** of vegetation was destroyed. The new wave could exact even more damage. With the ongoing floods also destroying crops and the COVID-19 pandemic generally disruption movement of farmers and inputs, Kenya may be heading for an unprecedented triple whammy that could lead to severe food shortages.

Only recently, the Russian government donated **USD 3M** or **Ksh 300M**, to Kenya, to boost the country’s efforts to eradicate the pests. This is part of a larger **USD 10 million** donation to the region currently experiencing what experts have described as the *worst locust invasion in 70 years*.

Such efforts must be commended and replicated, since the locusts could soon give the country a rude reminder of their continued presence, as food shortages creep in and prices begin to soar. Government officials would do well to keep one eye on the invisible virus and the other eye on the unmistakable creepers that could alter life as we know it, post COVID-19.

Flying Into A Storm: The Folly of Ignoring Desert Locusts Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Around the world there is a big debate among scientists on whether viruses are biologically dead or alive. The science about this debate is complicated and comes down to such terminologies as *genomes* and *metabolism*. But in Kenya these days, one would be forgiven to think that many ordinary folk walking on the streets have long settled this intriguing debate. They all seem to have decided that the novel coronavirus that is causing havoc around the world, is functionally dead and buried. 

> How else can you explain the sudden return of the hustle and bustle of city life for instance? How do you account for the fact that traffic jams in Nairobi are back to factory settings and hawkers and bartenders are back in position?

In reality, this behavior may have little to do with the genetics of the coronavirus and that raging scientific debate. Something is slowly giving in Kenya’s fight against the new coronavirus and the disease it causes known as **COVID-19**. The occasional high pitch of the Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, during his daily briefings, betrays the creeping frustration at Afya House. In the first week of May alone, the number of confirmed cases in the country has jumped by more than one quarter to breach the **500 mark**. Nairobi’s Eastleigh area has recorded nearly **40 cases in a span of just 48 hours**. Mombasa’s Old Town is also emerging as a key melting pot for COVID-19.

Yet Kenyans are pouring back onto the streets, markets and office floors as if an all-clear signal has been sounded in every corner of the country. Eastleigh, in spite of its soaring new infection numbers, is still teeming with animated businessmen and women and equally enchanted customers so vigorously buying and selling as if to thumb the nose of the virus.

Dr Lukoye Atwoli, the Vice President of the Kenya Medical Association calls it a ‘natural human response’. He contends that Kenyans may now be fatigued since most of them have been at home or at least away from their regular work for an unusually long period of time. There is also the emerging view that the decision by the government to allow restaurants to to re-open, may have sent the wrong signals about the level of threat the country faces. But the threat, warns Dr Atwoli, is still very real and present in the country. 

The other headache is the standoff around what has been referred to as *‘mass testing’*, which is in fact merely targeted testing in identified hotspots such as Kawangware and Eastleigh in Nairobi and Old Town in Mombasa. This exercise has run into massive headwinds. Many members of the public believe that presenting oneself for COVID-19 testing is tantamount to putting one’s freedom and pocket on the line. They fear that testing positive for the virus automatically means being sent to quarantine *‘at your own cost’*. This fear is not unfounded since the Ministry of Health officials have dutifully deployed this phrase *‘at your own cost’* in almost every news conference they have held since the first case was reported in the country in the second week of March this year. Not even the cajoling by Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho has convinced residents of Old Town to turn up for the exercise.

@[youtube](1Kmnt5q0xqA)

***Mombasa resident comments on mass testing | Wanon Media***

This stalemate has put the government’s mantra of ‘trace, test, isolate and treat’, into serious jeopardy. The longer it takes for the tests to be carried out, the wider the spread of the virus might be and the more difficult it would be to trace all the contacts of any resident who might turn a positive result.

The government is now racing against time to close the transmission loop and convince an increasingly restless population that the threat is still real, that the virus is still alive enough to cause massive damage in the economy and overrun the country’s healthcare system.



Is the Virus Dead In Kenya? Government’s Big Test as COVID-19 Fight Enters New Phase

There is that old saying that 

> “if you can’t beat them, you join them” 

Of course scientists are not often associated with proverbs and such other linguistic niceties, but a group of malaria researchers working in Kenya, may well be heeding this old wisdom in new research [published in Nature Communications journal](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16121-y).

For years, the mosquito has been regarded as a nuisance. In fact, the malaria-transmitting type known as the *Anopheles mosquito*, derives its very name from an ancient greek word, *ἀνωφελής (anōphelḗs)*, which literally means ***'useless'*** or ***'without profit'***.  But now the researchers drawn from Kenya and the United Kingdom and working under the auspices of the **International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE)**, believe they have a found a way through which mosquitoes could be used to stop the spread of malaria.

The study conducted on the shores of Lake Victoria, found that a microbe that is naturally present in some of the mosquitoes makes them immune to the parasite that causes malaria. This means these particular mosquitoes can therefore not transmit malaria to humans. Many previous and ongoing studies have focused on ways of eradicating mosquitoes or somehow artificially interfering with their ability to transmit the most dangerous malaria-causing parasite known scientifically as *Plasmodium falciparum*.

This study is particularly exciting because it bumped onto a potentially powerful new frontier that involves *‘co-operating’* with the mosquito to destroy malaria. The microbe which they have named *Microsporidia MB*, occurs in about 5% of all mosquitoes and they are convinced that increasing this number could drastically cut down on malaria cases in the country.

Dr Jeremy Herren, who led the research while jointly affiliated with **ICIPE** and the **University of Glasgow in Scotland**, says this newly identified microbe is of particular interest because it is a symbiont, meaning it has a mutually beneficial relationship with mosquitoes.

> “The bodies of all animals are inhabited by microbes which are either detrimental – in other words pathogens; or neutral / beneficial symbionts,”explains Dr Herren, adding, “Healthy insects often have microbial symbionts inside their bodies and cells, which can have major effects on the biology of their hosts. At icipe, my team’s research is focused on this type of microbial symbiont, especially when they may be interfering with transmission of diseases by insects.”

The research involved many Kenyan scholars, mainly student pursuing post-graduate studies. One of them, Lillian Mbaisi says the microbe has two important qualities that makes it invaluable in this new quest to beat malaria. “We were excited to find that the *Microsporidia MB* symbiont is transmitted from mother mosquitoes to their offspring, and that the microbe does not compromise the ability of mosquitoes to survive,” says Mbaisi, a student at the University of Nairobi, doing her research project at **ICIPE**.

The next big thing for the researchers will now be to find ways of ensuring that more mosquitoes have this microbe especially in regions such as Nyanza, Western and parts of the Coast, where malaria is most common.

They are considering somehow infecting mosquitoes en mass with this microbe or introducing it in male mosquitoes so that they can pass it on to the females during mating. The females in turn will naturally pass the microbes onto their offspring, thereby helping the numbers to increase without any human intervention. The researchers believe that infecting between **40% and 50%** of mosquitoes with this microbe could have significant impact in the fight against malaria.

Malaria remains one of the leading globally health concerns, with at least **400,000 deaths annually**. According to the **Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)**, an estimated **3.5 million** people are diagnosed with the disease in Kenya each year, with **10,700 deaths recorded**.

The scientists at **ICIPE** are hoping that using the mosquito as an ally in the fight, may soon ease that headache.

From Enemies to Allies: Could Mosquitoes Hold the Key to Beating Malaria?

The world is staring at a crisis that has no precedent. For the first time in history, every country is dealing with the exact same problem, even if the manifestations and the impacts are varied. The novel coronavirus has pre-occupied the global community in ways seldom witnessed before. Health systems are overwhelmed. Travel, both local and international, has nearly ground to a halt. More than one third of the global population is in some form of lockdown or milder restrictions as governments move to curb the spread of COVID-19. That is the background against which the 50th anniversary of Earth day is being marked.

But as the pandemic continues to upend literally every aspect of life, experts are pointing to an unintended pleasant consequence. Mother Earth is beginning to breath again. In March this year, images appeared on Facebook of fish swimming graciously in the often murky canals of the Italian city of Venice. The absence of human activity for just a couple of weeks had breathed a new lease of life into the canals that typically teem with countless gondolas and thousands of tourists.

In China, which accounts for about one-third of global CO2 emissions, officials have been reporting unprecedented frequency of clear skies and overall air quality. The specialised web publication, 'Carbon Brief' estimates that there will be a 5.5 % reduction in global CO2 emission levels this year, as a result of the reduced human activity. That figure would have otherwise been unimaginable if it were business as usual. Former US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz says the reduction may be temporary but it is a welcome pointer to what is possible in a world with less fossil fuel. “This is a glimpse of the benefits that would accrue from having a robust low-carbon economy”, he says, noting that domestic consumption had risen slightly while industry energy was at a near all-time low since the advent of the global pandemic.

John Kioli of the Kenya Climate Change Working Group (KCCWG), calls on Kenyans to evaluate the sustainability of the country’s energy sources and consumption patterns. “We should check on how often we have our lights on during the day, how many appliances we keep on at the same time and all the other smaller details we often overlook”, he says. Owing to the heavy travel restrictions, many international conferences are now happening online saving the planet huge quantities of carbon emissions. Ecologists hope that such habits will not disappear once the crisis is under control.

@[youtube](fGPTaW6gSJk)

*The Silver Lining in the Dark COVID-19 Cloud, But For How Long? - John Kioli | Wanon Media*

The slowed human activity has however resulted in reduced economic activity that might snowball into a full-blown recession. That, according experts, would undermine the short –term gains made in environmental conservation in general and climate action in particular. Respected University of Chicago economics scholar Michael Greenstone predicts that climate change will once again take the back banner as countries struggle to reverse the economic downturn. “The recession will hurt climate change action since pressing immediate economic needs will take precedence over climate mitigation measures.”, he said during an online panel discussion organized by Aspen Institute and the Future Earth organisation, to mark Earth Day. But John Kioli hopes that the positive habits learnt by default throughout this season will not be rolled back once the pandemic is controlled and increased human activity resumes. The 50th anniversary of Earth Day is different in many ways, not just because it is a milestone, but it coincides with a complex confluence of various forces, with varying implications for the planet. What will the world look like when the 60th anniversary of Earth Day is marked in 2030? That is the big questions that the post-COVID-19 dispensation will have to answer.

The Silver Lining in the Dark COVID-19 Cloud, But For How Long?

In the the midst of loud headlines about COVID-19 and the occasional political noises, a heated debate is underway about an attempt by the government to introduce controversial new taxes in the newly published Finance Bill.

A group of six civil society organisations have now petitioned the National Assembly, protesting the plan by the government to impose **Value Added Tax (VAT)** on clean energy solutions including solar equipment, clean cooking stoves and **Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)**.

![A renewable energy Jiko](https://api.wanonmedia.com/media/43ddd392-89ef-4e6f-9e88-04e0b441cc0c.png)

*A renewable energy Jiko*

In the **Finance Bill 2020/2021**, the government is proposing to remove **VAT** exemption for specialized equipment for the development and generation of solar and wind energy, including batteries used to store solar energy, essentially allowing for the imposition of the applicable **14% VAT** on these goods. Clean cooking stoves and LPG, which are increasingly popular, will also now attract the standard VAT rate, should parliament approve the bill in its current form.

The consortium comprising the Alliance of Civil Society Organisations for Clean Energy Access, the Kenya Climate Change Working Group(KWCCG), the Green Africa Foundation, the Clean Cooking Association of Kenya (CCAK), SUSWATCH-Kenya and the Sustainable Energy Access Forum Kenya (SEAF-K), say the move will put these clean sources of energy out of reach for a majority of Kenyans and undermine the government’s clean energy agenda.

> “the introduction of 14% VAT on solar powered development and generation equipment will erode numerous gains that have been made towards the achievement of universal energy access by 2022”, says their petition, adding that the move would also compromise Kenya’s commitment to the **United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)** number 7 which aims at ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

![Solar Panels](https://api.wanonmedia.com/media/55b3bce8-bcf1-499c-a101-4bd342ccd370.jpg)

*Photo by Wanon Media*

Kenya is currently implementing the **Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project (KOSAP)**, which seeks to provide electricity to parts of the country that are not served by the national grid. The project which is financed by the World Bank is part of Kenya’s stated agenda of achieving universal energy access for all by 2022. It is targeting at least **1.3 Million households**, mainly in the North East and Northern Kenya. These residents are currently left out of the country’s Mombasa – Nairobi – Lake Victoria central electricity corridor, and according to experts, solutions such as solar energy are their only hope.

A recent analysis by audit and tax firm **KPMG**, warns that imposing **VAT** on these increasingly essential goods would negate this noble government initiative on renewable energy.

> “The proposed **VAT** charge on **LPG** will increase the price of cooking gas which contradicts government efforts to shift consumers from use of wood fuel to LPG to conserve our forests”, says KPMG in their report published last month.

According to the **International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)**, the falling costs of renewable energy around the world has led to an exponential growth in its update. A new report from the agency indicates that the cost of solar power has declined by 47% from 2010, 82% for solar PV, 39% for onshore wind, and 29% for offshore wind within the same period. With the right policy environments, the agency predicts that this sector will continue to grow in 2020, even with the COVID-19 pandemic.

![An Infographic Comparing Renewable Energy and Fossil Fuels](https://api.wanonmedia.com/media/2eea34ad-ba07-465b-aacb-7e86c353762a.jpg)

*Source: IRENA*

In Kenya, the removal of VAT on these renewable energy sources in 2013, has spurred massive growth in the sector. The World Bank estimates that *700,000 home solar systems* have been installed in the country in recent times. The favorable tax regime is credited with the emergence of innovative solutions such as the pay-as-you go model that has made solar energy widely accessible in rural areas. The pay-as-you-go model has a flexible and affordable payment plan and is now expanding rapidly to other parts of Africa. 

On Friday, the consortium of civil society organisations, staged a web discussion on the proposed tax measures and resolved to lobby parliamentarians to reject the government move. They argue that imposing of the new taxes would have adverse effects on the education sector as well, since many pupils now use solar lamps, giving them more time for study and saving them from respiratory illnesses that come from the use of kerosene.The webinar put together in partnership with **WWF Kenya**, **Hivos East Africa** and the **Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD)**, was part of a series of activities aimed at reaching parliamentarians who will be considering the bill this week. 

Interestingly, the proposals to remove **VAT** on both clean cook stoves and **LPG** were contained in the recent Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020 but were roundly rejected by the National Assembly. The legislators argued at the time, that imposing VAT on LPG would increase the cost of gas and stall the country’s move towards clean energy. The National Assembly further observed that the VAT exemption on clean cook stoves encouraged the use of renewable energy thereby conserving the environment while reducing cases of respiratory illness.

The government of Kenya is currently on a revenue hunt after unveiling a multi-billion-shilling stimulus package to cushion businesses and vulnerable groups from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. But with the proposed new tax on renewable energy it may well be coming close to cutting its nose to spite its face.



Blowing Hot and Cold: VAT Plan Clouds Kenya's Renewable Energy Agenda

**Wanon Media** in partnership with the **Stockholm Environment Institute** held its inaugural training event titled the ***East Africa Online Training Workshop on Science and Environmental Journalism***. The three-day training brought together more than 20 journalists from all the six East African Community member countries; Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. The theme of the workshop which took place between 16th and 18th December, 2020 was ***“Communicating Climate Change and the Blue Economy: what are the opportunities for storytelling?”***. The event which featured key media personalities, scientists and journalism trainers, employed a hybrid model, with face-to-face sessions at the Nairobi Serena Hotel and virtual participants from the various countries, via Zoom platform. The Principal Moderator was renowned TV journalist, *Yvonne Okwara-Matole*, a Senior News Anchor and Editor at Royal Media Services.

The government of Kenya was represented by the **Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS)** at the **Ministry of Environment and Forestry** *Hon. Mohamed Elmi* who presided over the official opening ceremony. The **CAS** challenged the attendees to rededicate themselves to environmental stories noting that climatic crises like climate change continued to pose a great risk to sustainable development.

*H.E Dr. Wilbur Ottichilo*, Governor of Vihiga county in Kenya, delivered the keynote speech. *Gov. Ottichilo* is a passionate champion of the environment and is credited with introducing to parliament, the ever first ***Climate Change Bill in Kenya***, while he served as a legislator.The bill tabled in parliament in 2014, was the precursor to Kenya’s ground-breaking Climate Change Act, 2016. He called on the participants to explore climate change stories in the far-flung corners of the country, which have otherwise been marginalised.

**Media Council of Kenya** CEO, *Mr David Omwoyo* also spoke in the morning session, giving the participants a rallying call to venture more into specialised areas in journalism, particularly science and environment. The **CEO** also pledged support for the participants in form of grants and prizes to deserving applicants.

*Dr Philip Osano*, Centre Director for **SEI** in Africa and the Acting **CEO** of Wanon Media, *Dr Idah Mwenda-Muchunku*, both pledged to continue working together to promote credible science and environmental journalism in the region.

Notable media trainers included veteran journalist *Joe Ageyo*, the Editorial Director of Royal Media Services and renowned science journalist, *Ochieng’ Ogodo*, who is the Coordinator and Editor of SciDev.net in Sub-Saharan Africa, and a former chairperson of the **Kenya Environmental and Science Journalists’ Association (KENSJA)**. Below are the brief bios of key personalities who graced the training event:

**HON. MOHAMED ELMI – CHIEF GUEST**

![HON. MOHAMED ELMI](https://publisher.wanonmedia.com/api/v1/media/8fd3a5b2-85ba-4207-abb1-50519bd1602e.jpg)

*Hon. Mohammed Elmi* is Kenya’s Chief Administrative Secretary for the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Kenya, since March 2018. He has served in various leadership capacities both in private and public sectors as well as in politics. He was first elected to parliament in 2007 to represent Wajir East Constituency and later served as a Cabinet Minister in charge of Northern Kenya and Arid Lands, from 2008 – 2013. Before joining politics, *Hon. Elmi*, was the Oxfam Regional Manager, covering five countries in Africa: Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda. He also served as a Board Member for **New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD) – Kenya**, from 2006 to 2008. Earlier in 1998, he received the Presidential appointment as a Commissioner for **Kenya Poverty Commission**, a position he held until 2002. *Hon. Mohammed Elmi*, holds a Master’s degree in Community Health from Liverpool University, United Kingdom, acquired in 2001.

**GOVERNOR OTICHILLO – KEYNOTE SPEAKER**

![GOVERNOR OTICHILLO](https://publisher.wanonmedia.com/api/v1/media/7cfdc01b-fe29-45bc-b935-176c379d5ea4.jpeg)

*Dr. Wilber Ottichilo* is the Governor of Vihiga County in Kenya. He is only the second person to hold that position having been elected in the 2017 General Election. Before then he served as the Member of Parliament for Emuhaya Constituency in Western Kenya. Dr. Ottichilo is a passionate environmental scientist who is credited with moving the first bill in parliament that culminated in the seminal Kenya’s Climate Change Act, 2016. Dr. Ottichilo attended the prestigious Makerere University from 1974 to 1977, the University of Nairobi from 1981 to 1983, as well as Colorado State University from 1984 to 1986. He obtained his doctorate in Natural Resource Management and Space Science from the University of Wageningen and International Institute for Earth Observation and Geo Information, The Netherlands. Prior to becoming a Member of Parliament, *Dr. Ottichilo* was the Director General for **Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD)**, an agency of  **United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)** and a Deputy Director at the **Kenya Wildlife Service**.

**DAVID OMWOYO – GUEST SPEAKER**

![DAVID OMWOYO](https://publisher.wanonmedia.com/api/v1/media/50c7b861-51b0-4c51-8207-39a6d25c8e71.jpg)

*David Omwoyo* is the **Chief Executive Officer** of the **Media Council of Kenya (MCK)**, a statutory self-regulation institution for the Kenyan media. Prior to his appointment, *Mr. Omwoyo* was the Managing Director of Waumini Communications Limited and the Director of Communications for the **Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops**. He has previously worked as Resource Mobilization Manager and Media Lecturer at Egerton University. In addition, he was the founding director of Radio Amani. Mr. Omwoyo holds a Master’s degree in Mass Communications from The University of Leicester (UK) and is undertaking a PhD in Communications at the University of South Africa.

**DR. IDAH MUCHUNKU-MWENDA - HOST AND TRAINER**

![DR. IDAH MUCHUNKU-MWENDA](https://publisher.wanonmedia.com/api/v1/media/ed1175f0-5fd4-4234-a120-191112c90d55.jpg)

*Dr. Idah Muchunku-Mwenda*, an experienced communications consultant in Science and Development Information, is the Director, Training & Research and Acting **CEO**, Wanon Media Ltd, where she leads a team of passionate media and science professionals to achieve the vision of humanising science by making authentic scientific information accessible and usable by everyone. She has ten years of experience in leadership, research and training at university level. *Dr. Muchunku-Mwenda* is a Senior Lecturer and Coordinator Postgraduate Studies, Faculty of Media and Communication, Multimedia University of Kenya. Previously she has worked as the Dean, School of Social Sciences at Mount Kenya University, in addition to stints at Zetech and Kenya Methodist universities. In 2015, *Dr. Muchunku-Mwenda* attained a Doctor of Philosophy (Mass Communication) from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) with a thesis on Climate Change Communication. She holds a Master of Arts (Communication Studies) from the University of Nairobi (2009) and a Bachelor of Science (Information Sciences), First Class Honours, from Moi University (2004). *Dr. Muchunku-Mwenda* has researched and published several papers on climate change communication in credible journals, including Sustainability, a reputable international journal. She is a Member of the **Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK)**, **Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK)**, and **Christian and Scientific Association of Kenya (CSAK)**.

**JOE AGEYO - TRAINER**

![JOE AGEYO](https://publisher.wanonmedia.com/api/v1/media/0d397441-fc55-4684-b210-c5b2f399169c.jpg)

*Joe Ageyo* is the Editorial Director at Royal Media Services where he oversees news and current affairs across two TV channels and 14 radio stations. Joe has a wide experience in television journalism spanning a period of 20 years. Joe has co-moderated two presidential debates in Kenya; the inaugural one in 2013 as well as the second one in 2017. He has also served in the Steering Committee of the Presidential Debates in Kenya and as a trustee of the **Kenya Editors Guild**. As an editor, he has presided over the coverage of three General Elections and two national referenda in Kenya. *Joe* who is a well-rounded journalist has excelled both in general news reporting as well as in specialised areas such as science and environmental journalism. *Joe* is a fellow at the **Center for Governance and Sustainability** at the **McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies (MGS)**, University of Massachusetts, a member of the Communications Advisory Group of the UN Decade of the Ocean, and a Catto Fellow at the Aspen Institute. He holds a Master of Science in Environmental Governance from the University of Manchester, a Bachelor of Agribusiness Management from Egerton University, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Mass Communication from the University of Nairobi, and an Advanced Certificate in Environmental Diplomacy from the University of Geneva, Switzerland.

**DR. ESTHER MUNYIRI – TRAINER**

![DR. ESTHER MUNYIRI](https://publisher.wanonmedia.com/api/v1/media/fd68916b-81d8-4c0d-b0cc-4fb8ad3488d1.jpg)

*Dr. Esther Munyiri* is the Director, **Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management – Eastern Africa (GTRCMC-EA)** at Kenyatta University. Until her appointment, Dr Munyiri was the Chairperson, Department of Hospitality and Tourism in Kenyatta University, a position that she has held for the last 2 years, after serving as the Chairperson, Department of Tourism Management for another 2 years. She holds a Bachelors, Masters and PhD in Tourism Management. Her PhD thesis was on *Vulnerability and Adaptation of the Tourism Sector to Climate Change in Kenya*.  Her areas of interest include climate change vulnerability, mitigation and adaptation, crisis management in tourism, geospatial analysis, tourism governance and regional development, tourism management and marketing, and community tourism development. She has wealth of experience in tourism management from work and training engagements with Aigas Field Centre in Scotland, where she was involved in extensive travelling across Scotland with tourists.  She is the lead researcher in a series of research projects commissioned in 2020 by the **National Tourism Crisis Management** Steering Committee under the **Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, Kenya.** 

**OCHIENG’ OGODO – TRAINER**

![OCHIENG’ OGODO](https://publisher.wanonmedia.com/api/v1/media/6522d680-3a3d-4118-8347-2bd3c4c855b5.jpg)

*Ochieng’ Ogodo* is the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Coordinator and News Editor for the UK based Science and Development Network [SciDev.Net] - an online media house with a strong focus on news, views and information about science, technology and development on the developing world. He holds Bachelor of Science in Communication and Journalism from Moi University (Kenya), Diploma in Communication and Public Relations - Moi University (Kenya), Diploma in Climate Change Reporting from Danida Fellowship Centre, Denmark, and is currently pursuing Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies at the University of Nairobi. He is a member of the Executive Board of the World Federation of Science Journalists and the immediate former Chairperson of the **Kenya Environmental and Science Journalists’ Association (KENSJA)**.

**YVONNE OKWARA - MODERATOR**

![YVONNE OKWARA](https://publisher.wanonmedia.com/api/v1/media/f9a41e76-6602-45cb-b09a-e8478b627d1f.jpg)

Yvonne Okwara is a Kenyan media personality with 13 years’ experience in radio and television. She has moderated several local and international panels comprising Melinda Gates, Former US Secretary of Treasury Jack Lew, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Chairman Monetary Authority of Singapore, Governor Central Bank of Kenya Dr. Patrick Njoroge, Former IMF Deputy Managing Director Min Zhu, **UNAIDS** Executive Director Michel Sidibe, Bishop TD Jakes, as well as former **AfDB** President Donald Kaberuka. In 2017, she moderated the Presidential Debates in Kenya.*Yvonne* is currently a Senior News Anchor and Editor in charge of Research and Planning at East Africa’s biggest TV channel, Citizen TV. She is a media consultant for Kenya’s National Defence College, and sits on the **ENACTUS** Business Advisory Council. She is a board member at **CBM Kenya**, a development organisation that works to improve the lives of persons with disability, and chairs the Advisory Board of **Africa Uncensored**, an independent media house set up by Kenya’s finest investigative journalists. Yvonne is a Bloomberg Africa Leadership Initiative Media Fellow.



Wanon Media partners with Stockholm Environment Institute for inaugural East African journalists’ training on Climate Change and Blue Economy

On Friday last week, the regular Kenya gazette appeared to be longer than most previous editions. It immediately got Kenyans talking because amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the publication had news about a referendum bill, signalling the likelihood of a vote to change the constitution, in the near future. But buried deep inside the voluminous document was something that may have escaped many a reader - a notice about a famous crop grown in many parts of Africa - cassava. 

The gazette issue informed the country about a project that has been going on for years to find a solution to a common disease in this tuber crop, known as the *Cassava Brown Streak Disease* **(CBSD)**. Typically such information would not be in the Kenya gazette, but this particular project involved a specialised and highly-regulated kind of research known as genetic modification *i.e the manipulation of naturally occurring traits in living things to achieve desired results*. This is what scientists have done with a certain variety of cassava to give it in-built resistance to this viral disease that can wipe off an entire crop season.

![Clean improved Cassava Root from VIRCA Plus Project.jpg](https://api.wanonmedia.com/media/42910f17-bf4e-40b0-bc65-378176797878.jpg)

*Clean improved Cassava Root from VIRCA Plus Project*

The country’s premier agricultural research institute, **Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO)**, which has been part of this ground breaking research, has now applied for formal approval for the growing of this newly developed variety of cassava in open fields. This is usually a critical stage in this kind of research which before now has been conducted mainly in laboratories, greenhouses and  confined fields. **The Biosafety Act 2009** which regulates such research requires that crops produced in this manner be approved by the regulator, the **National Biosafety Authority**, before they can be released to the public.

The Authority told *Wanon Media* that it would consider the safety of this variety to both human beings and the environment before granting its decision. The CEO, **Prof Dorrington Ogoyi** says the researchers have met all the regulatory requirements in the previous stages but they have to pass the final test before the variety can be released to the public.

> “We have to be sure that the new variety they are introducing is substantially equivalent to the conventional variety…and that it will not somehow wipe out our existing variety or transfer some of the genes to other existing varieties”, he said, calling on members of the public to come out and give their views about the application, as required by public participation laws in Kenya. 

The **CSBD-resistant** cassava was developed through a consortium bringing together Kenyan, Ugandan, Nigerian and American institutions under the banner of **Virus Resistant Cassava for Africa (VIRCA) Plus**. And the researchers say this variety, if approved, will improve livelihoods on the continent.

![Cassava Brown Streak Affected cassava root](https://api.wanonmedia.com/media/8cdb8dae-fc41-454a-890e-105d2603c2a0.jpg)

*Cassava Brown Streak Affected cassava root*

> “The entire **VIRCA Plus** project team is excited to reach this milestone in improving agricultural productivity for farmers in East Africa. A positive decision by the Kenya **NBA** would allow us to move ahead in bringing disease-resistant versions of superior cassava varieties to breeders and farmers”, said a statement from the research team.

The researchers focused on cassava owing to its critical role in food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the **Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)**, Africa accounts for more than 40% of total tropical production of the crop in the world. In Kenya, it is the second most important tuber crop after Irish potato, covering about 90,000 hectares of farmland. As of 2019, the country’s annual production was estimated at 540,000 tonnes.

Crop experts consider **CSBD** to be one of the biggest threats to food security in coastal East Africa, where cassava is a staple food. The disease was first identified in Tanzania in 1936 and has since spread to other parts of the East African coast notably Kenya and Mozambique. Scientists have since identified the two viruses responsible for the disease namely the *cassava brown streak virus* **(CBSV)** and *Ugandan cassava brown streak virus* **(UCBSV)**. The disease typically causes a yellowing of the affected leaves and rot in the roots, making the cassava tuber inedible.

> “**CBSD** resistant cassava *line 4046* exhibits high levels of resistance to infection by the two plant viruses that cause **CBSD** through a well-known gene silencing mechanism **(RNAi)**”, said the statement from **VIRCA Plus**, adding that farmers and consumers would now benefit from the crop’s improved root quality and increased yield.

![Clean improved Cassava Root from VIRCA Plus Project](https://api.wanonmedia.com/media/faa68923-abec-4a4a-9ac0-4d3dbff0a1f5.jpg)

*Clean improved Cassava Root from VIRCA Plus Project*

The cassava project is the latest genetically modified crop to come this far in the approval process. In December last year, Kenya’s cabinet approved genetically modified cotton, known as **Bt-Cotton**, for release to farmers. The Indian Seed Company, Mahyco is currently getting ready to roll out these varieties in more than 20 cotton growing areas in the country.

Members of the public now have until June 14th to give their views to the regulator on whether the newly developed cassava variety should be approved or not.



Tubers of Hope: Kenya Inches Closer to Genetically Modified Cassava

The city and the wild don’t usually exist in one sentence. But Nairobi has for years boasted of this very contradiction. In fact, some of the most iconic images used to promote the Nairobi National Park, are often those that have a giraffe or a zebra in the foreground and the city’s majestic skyscrapers gracing the skyline behind. This unique quality of the park has been and remains a powerful selling point, but it is also the potent mix that threatens the future of the park from time to time. Now, is one of those times.

The latest flashpoint is the **Nairobi National Park Draft Management Plan 2020-2030** – a strategic document that should ideally position the park as the wild break from the advancing concrete jungle from the city centre; a natural refuge from the hungry merchants of ***‘development’***, who seek to annex every available green space. According to critics, however, the management plan as currently drafted, may well be a long obituary for Kenya’s oldest park, established in 1946.

In the document, the **Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)**, signals its plans to initiate a number of construction projects intended to ***‘improve visitor experience’***. The service also proposes among other measures, the fencing of the park in a bid to reduce human wildlife conflict. These, KWS argues, will eventually secure the park and result in increased revenue especially amid dwindling funding from the government and uncertain periods in international tourism.

In particular, KWS is proposing to construct an ultramodern hotel, an amphitheatre, a museum, a house for its Director among other new development projects in the park.  But the plan has angered many wildlife lovers who accuse KWS of sidestepping public participation requirements in drafting it. They argue that the public has not had time to engage with the document owing to the country’s ongoing preoccupation with the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Dr. Paula Kahumbu, the CEO of Wildlife Direct, a conservation watchdog, says the document was hurriedly put together without sufficient input from stakeholders. She is particularly dismayed by the proposed plan to put up the new buildings right inside the park.

> “There is no need for hotels in the park, there is plenty of accommodation in Nairobi…developing tourism infrastructure is not the role of KWS in terms of park management,”she insists, adding that KWS should instead focus on maintaining roads, ensuring park security and taking care of wild species in the park. 

Dr Kahumbu, who on 18th of April, 2020, kicked off a campaign on Twitter, asking for the help of parliament to* ‘save’* the Nairobi National Park, is also opposed to the plan by **KWS** to fence off the park. She says cutting off the park from the neighbouring communities will have far reaching consequences for the long term survival of the park.

![Zebras in Nairobi National Park](https://api.wanonmedia.com/media/07f407c6-2236-40b2-acc8-1092d7f300a1.jpg)
 *Photo by Wanon Media*
> “This is an open ecosystem, the wildlife needs to move out of the park every day…so the surrounding area is vital for the health of the whole ecosystem…when you fence it, you’ll end up fencing some animals in and others out and preventing the proper movement of animals,”
she says.

![LIvestock Grazing](https://api.wanonmedia.com/media/90f612b6-2ae5-40df-943c-e67237c18729.jpg)
 *Livestock grazing in Isinya, part of the wider dispersal area for Nairobi National Park*



Activist Reinhard Bonke, who is a member of the conservation lobby, **Friends of the Nairobi National Park, (FoNNaP)**, says the management plan is too heavy on development of infrastructure, which he insists should be very low on KWS’s list of priorities.

>“The proposed development activities go against the National Wildlife Strategy launched by the CS in 2018 with one of the goals being to maintain and improve the ecological integrity of protected areas,” he says, accusing KWS of being obsessed with money, an approach he terms as *‘wrong and unsustainable’*. 

Bonke is also worried about the proposed fencing off of the park. He says the move, apart from disrupting the natural movement of wildlife,  will give room for individuals to grab land on the outskirts of the park, citing the example of the silos erected within the park allegedly by influential people with political connections.

The latest controversy builds on the unresolved grievances sparked off by the construction of the Southern Bypass that hived off parts of the park and the Standard Gauge Railway that runs inside the park. Bonke contends that wildlife no longer frequents the part of the park near the road and invasive species brought by the construction of the bypass has affected the quality of pasture available.

KWS, in the draft plan, admits that these infrastructure projects have had a negative impact on the park. 

![Standard Gauge Railway in Nairobi National Park](https://api.wanonmedia.com/media/1b4d070e-f09f-49e2-ad33-cb3a81c959d3.jpg)
 *Photo by Wanon Media*

> “The Southern bypass road passes through the park, and it has cut off a section of the park that borders Wilson Airport. The impacts of this road include noise and air pollution from traffic plying the road“
,KWS says.

The service also agrees with conservationists that foreign plant species have since invaded the park owing to these disturbances.

> “The spread of invasive species has been human-aided by increased vehicle presence, the maintenance of roads within the park, and the construction of new infrastructure within and adjacent to the park which creates disturbances in which these species thrive,”
says KWS in the draft plan.

Conservation experts believe that the park which has in recent years covered an area of about 117 square kilometres, is facing many existential threats today. Apart from infrastructure projects that are increasing squeezing it and a rapidly expanding city, its southern boundary is also under siege. The sub-division and subsequent sale of land in the former dispersal areas have increased cases of human-wildlife conflicts. The draft plan was partly aimed at addressing these concerns but the controversy it has generated illustrates the high stakes in managing Kenya’s oldest park.

The implementation of the draft plan has now been put on hold by Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala. The CS has ordered KWS to extend public consultations by two months to June 2020. Conservationists hope that by then their concerns and proposals will have been taken on board. In the meantime, Dr Kahumbu says KWS should give the park a break.

> “We want the government to stop building inside the park, let the park rest, let the animals have their freedom,”
she concludes.

Is Nairobi Now Being Forced to Choose Between the City and the Wild?

The novel Coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in the Kenya and across the African continent, with no signs of letting up anytime soon. Since President Kenyatta lifted the inter-county travel restrictions, there has been a drastic rise in the number of infections with the daily tally reaching a high of 960 cases.

With Kenyans facing tough economic times and having to get back to their places of work, it is becoming harder to stay at home and social distance leading to increased cases. The Ministry of Health has come up with guidelines to govern the slow return to normalcy with varying levels of success, however it is becoming increasingly clear that an antidote is now needed more than ever before. Various trial vaccines are currently at different stages of development.

A vaccine is a substance introduced to the body to stimulate production of antibodies to fight off a certain virus or bacteria. Vaccines are complex and take a long time to develop depending on the condition and the nature of the virus or bacteria being targeted. An example is HIV which has been researched for over 30 years without a successful vaccine being developed.

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***What Will It Take: Steps to a Covid-19 Vaccine | Wanon Media***

 When germs invade the bodies, the immune system naturally dispatches what scientists call macrophages to fight off the intruders. Normally this does the trick and the threat is eliminated even before you even get sick. Once the intruder is eliminated, most of the cells involved in this process die, leaving behind memory cells that identify the threat quicker in case there is a reinfection in future. This process normally takes a few days, opening the possibility of the person in question getting sick, but once the body acquires memory cells for the disease, it can deal with any potential reinfection even before the person exhibits symptoms.

Vaccines take advantage of this natural process to help the body familiarize itself with certain ailments by triggering an immune response. Each vaccine is unique depending on the nature of threat to the body. The first category is often called ‘Live Vaccines’, which are essentially a weakened version of the disease-causing organism introduced to the body to trigger  an immune response. Scientists say these types of vaccines can be dangerous and should not be used by people with a weakened immune system because they may not be able to fight the disease. There is also the inactive vaccines which contain dead versions of the disease, but which the body still views as a threat and induces it to produce memory cells to fight off similar infections in the future. The newest form of vaccines is known as DNA vaccines involve the introduction into the body of genes from the organism in question but since only a part of the disease-causing virus or bacteria is used, it can't lead to a full blown version of the disease thus reducing the risk to people with weak immune systems.

According to the World Health Organization, as at 27th July, there are 25 candidate vaccines for the Coronavirus in clinical evaluation and 139 more in pre-clinical evaluation. Researchers are working to develop a viable vaccine in the next 12-18 months a considerably short time considering the long process usually required before a vaccine can be availed to the market.

A typical vaccine development would often begin with preliminary research to establish a possibility that the vaccine could be viable. The stage is then followed by three trial phases before it can move to full production, approval and distribution to the market.

In the research stage, scientists have to study and understand how the virus works. in the case of Covid-19, a lot of research was already ongoing for more than a decade following the outbreak of SARS and MERS which are both caused by Coronaviruses.

In the Pre-Clinical stage, a pilot factory is set up to produce vaccines for the trials stages, existing factories can be repurposed to serve this cause. From the Phase 1 through to the Phase 3 trials, researchers gradually move from testing a few dozen people, hundreds and eventually thousands, subject to approval from the relevant authorities.

If the trials are successful, additional investment must be made in order to build factories to manufacture the vaccine. Given the delicate nature of this task, the factory must be built specifically for a certain vaccine, the reagents and equipment needed may be unique to that particular vaccine only. Once production is underway, the regulatory authority must certify that the vaccine safe and approve it for distribution.

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