"I use a razor, scissors and thread," says traditional midwife Peris Machanja, describing part of her work in delivering a baby. "Sometimes I use gloves, which I disinfect to use for another job – that is, if they are not torn. If they are, I try to get new ones.” Fifty-five year old Machanja, who lives in the low-income area of Kayole on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, assists with about five births a month, although this figure can double during busy periods. Her fee for doing so is about 6.5 dollars. But, if Kenya is to reach the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing maternal mortality by three quarters in the next decade, officials may have to call a halt to the work of this traditional birth attendant.

"We, the undersigned civil society and private sector associations and organisations would like to express our anger and outrage at the implications of the resignation of John Githongo from the position of Permanent Secretary for Governance and Ethics under the Office of the President. As the founder of the Kenyan chapter of Transparency International (TI), Githongo brought to the government ethical credibility and legitimacy whose financial benefits can only be said to be indisputable. Thus his resignation, despite already being framed by the government as being the result of 'professional opportunism' sounds the death knell on this government's purported anti-corruption effort."

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) launched a project intended to curb the incidence of sexual and gender-based violence in refugee camps in Kenya. n"Serious violations of the safety, security and dignity of refugees have occurred in many refugee programmes in the past," George Okoth-Obbo, UNHCR's country representative in Kenya said during the launch of the 'Preventing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in the Kenya Refugee Programme' project. Obbo said: "It is an irony that refugees have fled their homes because they could not find safety, yet they arrive in asylum to find equally acute forms of danger, fear and anxiety."

Kenyan Justice Minister Kiraitu Murungi has issued an apology for comments he made which outraged women's groups. On Wednesday, Mr Murungi said donor criticism of the government's fight against corruption was "like raping a woman who is already willing". Women's rights groups had staged noisy protests outside his office, demanding his resignation.

In the past five years, 48,900 wire snares have been found by conservationists along the game trails that crisscross this country famed for its abundant wildlife. Illegal hunting is flooding the market with inexpensive "bush meat." The poachers who set these traps were once after elephant and rhino ivory, but controversial trade bans have shut down those sales. While the scope of the problem is not fully known, conservationists say it could endanger Africa's wildlife as much the great herd massacres of the 1970s and 1980s.

Kenya’s civil society groups are protesting over a law that gives parliament sweeping powers to alter the country’s draft constitution, without involving the people. The parliament has been urged to repeal the law. Civil society groups argue that the new law interferes with the concept of a people-driven constitution. The problem heightened after President Mwai Kibaki in December silently assented to a controversial Bill that allows a simple majority of parliament to amend the draft constitution. The public only learned of the assent in the local newspapers January 25.

Passed by Parliament in 2001, the Children's Act outlaws various forms of violation against children, including FGM, for females 18 and younger. About 14 other countries in Africa have passed similar laws against FGM. Djibouti joined the group last Thursday by ratifying the African Union's Maputo Protocol on female genital mutilation, which requires its member states to ban the practice. But activists in Kenya - sometimes identified as a leader in the anti-FGM campaign - say the country still has a long way to go.

The Kenyan Ministry of Health on Wednesday admitted a day after a speech by U.S. Ambassador to Kenya William Bellamy that it has failed to distribute $54 million in funding to fight HIV/AIDS, the AP/CNN International reports. Bellamy in a speech on Tuesday said that government inefficiency is threatening the disbursement of millions of dollars in funding to fight the disease.

The resignation of Kenya's anti-graft boss raised concerns inside and outside the government on Monday as observers lamented the loss of a beacon of integrity in the country's fight against corruption. John Githongo quit as presidential anti-graft advisor effective Monday but gave no reason for his decision, saying only he "was no longer able to continue serving the government of Kenya". Friends said he had become increasingly frustrated with a lack of government cooperation.

At least 30 people were killed and around 2,000 displaced during clashes between pastoralists and farming communities in various parts of Kenya in January 2005. The recent unrest broke out when pastoral groups accused farming communities of diverting scarce water supplies. Kenya still hosts around 360,000 people who were displaced by political violence in the 1990s.

The British ambassador to Kenya launched a fresh attack on President Mwai Kibaki's government on Wednesday, saying tentative anti-graft efforts failed to stop the "massive looting" of public funds. Edward Clay, High Commissioner to Kenya, added in a speech that foreign associates of the previous government of former President Daniel arap Moi were working with Kibaki's officials to steal funds through crooked procurement ventures.

Kenya has become increasingly dependent on food imports, but declining incomes have limited the ability of households to buy these imported foods which has resulted in a worsened food security situation. This is according to research from the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) that looks at the impact of the liberalisation of the agricultural sector. The study recommends that Kenya reconsider increasing the use of domestic support measures allowed within the World Trade Organisation agreement on agriculture to allow adequate development of the agriculture sector.

The principle of non-discrimination is well established all over the world. It is to be found in most international conventions as well as in many countries municipal laws. Kenya is no exception and the principle is found in Kenya’s constitution as well as in the Children Act. Kenya furthermore, has ratified several of the international conventions containing the principle. Despite this, the principle is not always adhered to in Kenya and discrimination does exist in the country. One group that is being discriminated against is children born out of wedlock. When it comes to the issue of parental responsibility, these children get less support than children born by married parents. What is important to note in this regard is that this distinction between children born out of wedlock and children born by married parents, is actually provided for in Kenya’s national laws.

According to the Children’s Act, the issue of parental responsibility, i.e. which of the parents has responsibility for the child, is determined by whether or not the parents were married at the time of the child’s birth. In cases where the parents were married, both the mother and the father shall have parental responsibility. Neither the father nor the mother shall have a superior right or claim against the other in the exercise of this responsibility. However, in cases where the parents were not married at the time of the child’s birth and have subsequently not married, the issue of responsibility towards the child is different. In these cases, the mother is the one with full parental responsibility whereas the father bears no responsibility at all. The father can acquire responsibility, however, this is optional and more importantly, it is optional to the father, it is nothing neither the mother nor the child is able to enforce on the father.

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Top Japanese actress Rei Kikukawa has appealed for more assistance to the children and refugees of Kenya's Dadaab camp during a recent visit to raise awareness of their plight among the Japanese public. Kikukawa, 26, visited Dadaab refugee camp in north-eastern Kenya for four days last week with a team from Nippon Television Network Corporation, one of the leading Japanese TV stations. "The timing of this visit is quite important," said Toshiro Odashima, who heads UNHCR's office in Dadaab. "It comes at a time when world attention has shifted to Asia after the recent tsunami disaster. I hope Rei's presence here will remind the Japanese and the world of continued needs in places like Dadaab."

While the most recent Tsunami has spared the coastal areas of Kenya and the tidal waves nowhere reached above the high-water mark, the threat to the coastal ecosystems continues to come from within. Though inshore trawling was banned along the Kenyan coast - after many years of struggle by environmentally concerned organizations and citizens and already under the former government of then President Daniel Arap Moi - the new Kenya Government seems to disregard all decrees and agreements as well as its own political commitment towards poverty eradication as well as the respective Millennium Goals it signed at the United Nations.

Officials from UNAIDS, the World Bank and the British and Norwegian governments on Monday following a two-day visit to Kenya said the country deserves "kudos" for its decline in HIV prevalence but said that international donors need to do a better job of coordinating HIV/AIDS programs with the Kenyan government and nongovernmental organizations, VOA News reports. UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot said the Kenyan government has made "great strides" in reducing the country's HIV prevalence rate from nearly 14% in 1997 to about 7% in 2004.

Corruption remains the most significant barrier to doing business in Kenya, a joint World Bank and Kippra survey says. The survey shows that graft is the number one barrier to investment. The Investment Climate Assessment Survey is entitled: Enhancing the Competitiveness of Kenya's Manufacturing sector: The Role of the Investment Climate. It says that corruption was rated as a severe hurdle by three quarters of the sampled firms, while respondents reported that 'unofficial payments' to 'get things done' are required 57 per cent of the time.

A recent statement by the Kenyan government that many students who graduated from primary school last year will not find places in the country's secondary schools has generated widespread concern. According to Education, Science and Technology Minister George Saitioti, 657,747 pupils sat for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education last year - up from 587,961 in 2003. This marked an increase of almost 12 percent in the number of exam candidates - the highest increase to be recorded during the past decade.

The governments of Iran and Kenya were accused last week of arresting and brutalizing reporters for criticizing officials and covering allegations of corruption. In Kenya, nine Western embassies last week denounced the government for targeting employees of the East African Standard, which recently published an article alleging corruption by state officials.

This paper examines the roles of women in natural resource conservation in Kenya, identifying the major research gaps. The author argues that conservation efforts will only succeed if government and non-governmental conservation bodies target rural women. The paper argues that gender roles in Kenya put women in direct contact with natural resources such as forests, water, land and wildlife, and that women utilize and conserve these resources to supply basic needs for their families.