Premium

How plastic 'jelly fish' and 'squid' are killing marine animals

Tuna, swordfish, sting rays and shark often eat plastic, mistaking them for food. Experts say ingested plastic more often than not cause death, directly or indirectly.

By Gardy Chacha 24 days ago

Premium

Pollution highway: How Athi River transports millions of plastics into Indian Ocean

Plastic waste in the environment gets washed by rainfall runoff into rivers and stream that empty into large water bodies.

By Gardy Chacha 25 days ago

How plastic is contributing to climate change

Plastic, therefore, is a key factor contributing to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.

By Gardy Chacha 25 days ago

Premium

How two-month HIV shots reduce pill burden

While this once-a-day pill revolutionised treatment and remains Kenya's first-line regimen, daily adherence remains a persistent challenge for many people, particularly among adolescents.

By Gardy Chacha 1 month ago

Premium

Sh34m windfall: Kwale community tastes 'sweet' carbon credits money

Vanga Blue Forest is among the pioneering sites for carbon credit projects expected to shape how the global carbon credits market operates in the coming years.

By Gardy Chacha 1 month ago

Do not slaughter that sickly animal even as the festive season beacons

Humans get infected during close contact with infected animal carcasses or contaminated animal products

By Gardy Chacha 1 month ago

New push to rein in junk food gains steam

Nandi Hills MP Bernard Kitur argues that Kenya must consider measures, including possible legislation, to curb the growing consumption of junk food, saying that it is "destroying Kenyans" health.

By Gardy Chacha 1 month ago

MP Kitur: Sweet-drinks company wanted to bribe me to stay quiet

Within an hour of his presentation, 'visitors' from a 'big' beverage company known for its sweet-drink-products arrived in parliament 'to talk' with him.

By Gardy Chacha 1 month ago

Premium

From spinal TB to ICU: How sitting in one position almost killed me

When you are bedridden and unable to move about, you end up sitting on one spot for long periods. This puts immense pressure on that area, restricting blood flow to the skin and underlying tissue

By Gardy Chacha 2 months ago

Premium

Bloody virus: Why Kenya cannot afford to take chances on Marburg

Public Health officials in Kenya are in the initial stages of planning for a possible Marburg virus outbreak in Kenya after three deaths were confirmed in Ethiopia.

By Gardy Chacha 2 months ago

Premium

The Odinga's Ayurvedic journey

It has been three weeks since ODM leader Raila Odinga fondly known as 'Baba', was laid to rest after he passed away in India, reportedly while seeking healing at an Ayurvedic facility.

By Gardy Chacha 2 months ago

Kenyans turn to Ayurveda but warn emergencies still need hospitals

In Kenya, Ayurveda is classified as alternative medicine alongside traditional African medicine and homeopathy.

By Gardy Chacha 2 months ago

State steps up fight as pneumonia kills thousands of children annually

According to Winnie Muhoro, head of the Newborn and Child Health section at the Ministry of Health (MoH), pneumonia-related deaths are closely linked to poverty.

By Gardy Chacha 2 months ago

Premium

Baba's last minutes: Blood clot linked to fatal cardiac arrest

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga was battling a set of deadly comorbidities, among them hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes.

By Gardy Chacha 3 months ago

HIV gains at risk as donors cut lifeline support

The UNAIDS report revealed that the withdrawal of USAID funding has affected HIV care, increasing risks and uncertainty around the availability and management of essential HIV commodities.

By Gardy Chacha, Standard Team 3 months ago

Premium

The moment Raila Odinga fell and died

For weeks the whereabouts of Kenya's former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has been a subject of deep discussions both online and offline; with lots of rumours that he was gravely ill.

By Gardy Chacha 3 months ago

Is the public-private partnership SHA model being killed?

The Social Health Insurance Act (SHIA), which provides Social Health Authority (SHA), offers the possibility of a public-private partnership (PPP) with private medical insurance companies.

By Gardy Chacha 4 months ago

Premium

When silence hurts: Survivors' stories highlight grim reality of sexual violence in Kenya

For Phyllis Atieno*, 25, from Huyani village in Koru, Kisumu county, nothing could have prepared her for the sheer horror of an attack.

By Gardy Chacha 4 months ago

Why you must report to police and see a medic after rape

The evidence collected by the doctor, or a clinician, will be integral to the arrest and successful prosecution of the perpetrator.

By Gardy Chacha 4 months ago

After the trauma, finding pathways to healing

If you ask Phyllis Atieno*, 25, from Huyani village in Koru, Kisumu county, nothing can prepare a woman for the intense horror of an attack.

By Gardy Chacha 5 months ago

Premium

Malaria in pregnancy: Why one wrong drug could cost two lives

The process of developing a new drug to treat a disease can last at least three years to forever, says Palu Dhanani, the Managing Director at UCL.

By Gardy Chacha 5 months ago

Premium

Lupita's battle with fibroids: What every woman should know

Last week, Lupita shared her experience being diagnosed with fibroids with all and sundry on her official Facebook page.

By Gardy Chacha 6 months ago

How fibroids deny many women motherhood

Fibroids is a major cause of infertility among women.

By Gardy Chacha 6 months ago

Uterine growths can give you bad shape and cause kidney failure

Fibroids can start off pimple-sized then grow to as big as the human head.

By Gardy Chacha 6 months ago

Doctors condemn Kitengela Hospital invasion, call for protection during protest

Doctors have strongly condemned the invasion of Kitengela Hospital, a private health facility in Kajiado County, during Tuesday's Saba Saba demonstrations.

By Gardy Chacha 6 months ago

Relief as 24 diagnostic machines to be installed at county hospitals

National Equipment Service Programme is designed to efficiently upgrade infrastructure and strengthen early detection and treatment of common diseases in public health facilities.

By Gardy Chacha 8 months ago

Premium

My life at 2ft tall: Alice Mbere's inspiring journey

The challenges of living with her height started immediately she needed to start school.

By Gardy Chacha 8 months ago

First steps into danger: New study shows bloody urine disease affects breast feeding children too

In 2013, nearly one million school-aged children in these endemic areas were treated for schistosomiasis in Kenya.

By Gardy Chacha 8 months ago

Study: Suckling children at risk of bilharzia too

Bilharzia - or schistosomiasis - is a human parasitic disease predominant in tropical areas. It is classified as one of 20 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

By Gardy Chacha 8 months ago

Fibroids explained: What every woman should know about the condition

Another factor is giving birth to few babies. This, Dr Muthoka says, is linked to an interplay between female hormones oestrogen and progesterone.

By Gardy Chacha 9 months ago

Premium

Hope for women with fibroids as new treatment saves fertility

High Intensity Focused Ultrasound creates kills the fibroid without damaging the surrounding healthy tissues

By Gardy Chacha 9 months ago

Premium

Rising temperatures elevate the risk to Nairobi's malaria-free status

In Kenya, deaths from malaria have fluctuated from highs of 26,017 in 2010 to lows of 360 in 2013: shooting back up to 15,061 in 2015 and dwindling back to 219 in 2019.

By Gardy Chacha 9 months ago

Mosquitoes in Nairobi are close to 100 per cent harmless, says expert

In the survey, only 0.3 per cent were Anopheles. The Aedes type were equally very low in numbers.

By Gardy Chacha 9 months ago

Why you don't need a mosquito net in Nairobi

Based on evidence handled, the mosquitoes in Nairobi are close to 100 per cent harmless.

By Gardy Chacha 9 months ago

Premium

Endometriosis ruined my joy, health, and almost took my life

In some women endometrium-like cells grow in other parts of the body outside the inner lining of the womb which causes painful menses.

By Gardy Chacha 9 months ago

Premium

Crisis in the soil: Fertilizer shortage and depleting land risk food security

Farmers struggling to access subsidized fertilizer due to supply shortages, leaving them uncertain as the critical March-April-May rains begin.

By Gardy Chacha 10 months ago

Premium

Regina Kimanthi: Diagnosed with arthritis at 38, now battling diabetes at 48

At the age of 38, Regina Kimanthi was diagnosed with arthritis in 2015, following recurrent and unexplained joint pain and fatigue. She has been on arthritis medication ever since.

By Gardy Chacha 10 months ago

Premium

Inhumed: Danger posed by anthrax bacteria in soil and bitter lessons for livestock farmers

The month of January, 2024, recorded above average rainfall. The previous year, the Kenya Meteorological Department had forecast El Nino beginning October.

By Gardy Chacha 10 months ago

Will Kenya arrest anthrax outbreaks?

Kenya has laid out a plan to eliminate Anthrax in humans and reduce incidence in animals - to less than 1 per cent of the 2020 baseline - by 2036.

By Gardy Chacha 10 months ago

Premium

A Kenyan first: Cancerous bone in boy's knee cut out, 'cooked', then placed back

A boy in Githunguri, Kiambu County complained to his parents of unbearable pain above his knee, prompting a visit to the hospital.

By Gardy Chacha 1 year ago