hygiene Articles

Kenya

The Republic of Kenya, the 47th largest country in the world, borders Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the east, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, Sudan to the northwest and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. Nairobi is the capital of Kenya.

HISTORY:- The coasts of Kenya were inhabited by the seafaring Arabs and Persians around 8th century. The Nilotic and Bantu-speaking peoples arrived into the land in the first century. First European encounter was established when Portugal reached the region to carry our spice trade and gained control over the nation in around 1500. During the 17th century, British, Dutch and Omani Arab invasions weakened the Portuguese control over Kenya. The Omani Arabs expelled the Portuguese from Kenya in 1730. The Omani Arab colonization over Kenya was mostly restricted within the coastal area. In 1890, Kenya became a British protectorate. In 1920 by getting the name of British East Africa, Kenya became a British Crown colony. From early 1940s, Kenyan struggle for independence began, which was culminated when the Kikuyu militants rebelled against the British in the Mau Mau movement in 1952. In 1957 first direct elections to the Legislative Council was held. In 1963, Kenya gained independence with Jomo Kenyatta, a nationalist leader as the President. One-party system sustained from 1964 to 1992 in the country. In 1978 Daniel arap Moi became the President of Kenya. In 1992, first multi-party elections were organized.

GEOGRAPHY:- Kenya is located at 1 00 N, 38 00 E in Eastern Africa. The total area the country occupies is 582,650 sq km in which 569,250 sq km is captured by land and 13,400 sq km area is captured by internal water bases. The coastline is 536 km long along with the Indian Ocean. The lowest point is Indian Ocean (0 m) and the highest point is Mount Kenya (5,199 m). The coastal low plains rise to the central highlands, which is bisected by the Great Rift Valley. The western part comprises a fertile plateau.

CLIMATE:- The climate of Kenya varies from tropical along the coasts, south, central regions and west to arid and semi-arid in the north and the northeast.

GOVERNMENT:- Kenya is a republic. The constitution was adopted on 12th December 1963 and was amended in several times in 1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997, and 2001. The legal system is based on the Kenyan statutory law, Kenyan and English common law, tribal law, and the Islamic law. The three major branches of the government are:

Executive branch comprises the President (chief of state), the Vice President, the Prime minister (head of government), and cabinet. The President is elected by a popular vote. The cabinet of ministers is appointed by the President.

Legislative branch comprises the unicameral National Assembly or Bunge (224 seats).

Judicial branch comprises the Court of Appeal and the high Court. The chief justice is appointed by the President.

Two major political parties of Kenya are the Party of National Unity (PNU) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). Suffrage is universal at the age of 18.

President Mwai Kibaki

Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka

Prime Minister Raila Odinga

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- Kenya is divided into 7 provinces and a full administrative province (Nairobi).

The provinces are:

Central

Coast

Eastern

North Eastern

Nyanza

Rift Valley

Western

CULTURE:- More than 42 ethnic communities reside in Kenya. Many traditional cultures like Swahili culture, pastoralist culture, Maasai culture can be noticed in the nation. Every community has its own unique culture, dresses and cuisine. Afro-fusion and benga music influence the music of Kenya. Folk genre is also very popular. Cricket, rallying, football (soccer), rugby union and boxing are very popular.

ECONOMY:- Lack of proper infrastructure and high rate of corruption are the main obstacles in the growth of Kenyan economy.

GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $57.65 billion; per capita $1,600.

Real growth rate: 6.3%.

Inflation: 9.3%.

Unemployment: 40% (2001 est.).

Arable land: 8%.

Agriculture: Tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables; dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs.

Labor force: 11.85 million; agriculture 75%, industry and services 25% (2003 est.).

Budget:

Revenues: $5.525 billion

Expenditures: $6.493 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt: 40.5% of GDP (2007 est.)

Debt - external: $6.713 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Industries: Small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural products, oil refining; aluminum, steel, lead; cement, commercial ship repair, tourism.

Natural resources: Limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower.

Exports: $3.76 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, and cement.

Imports: $7.602 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics.

Major trading partners: Uganda, UK, U.S., Netherlands, Egypt, Tanzania, Pakistan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, India, China, Japan (2004).

Monetary unit: Kenya shilling

LANGUAGE:- English is the official language while Swahili is the national language of Kenya. Apart from the two, many indigenous languages are widely spoken by the Kenyan tribal groups.

CITIES:- The capital Nairobi is the largest city of Kenya. Other large cities are Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret.

POPULATION:- The estimated population of Kenya is 36,913,721 with a growth rate of 2.8%.

Density per sq mi: 168

Literacy rate: 85% (2003 est.)

RACE:-

Kikuyu 22%

Luhya 14%

Luo 13%

Kalenjin 12%

Kamba 11%

Kisii 6%

Meru 6%

Other African 15%

Non-African (Asian, European, and Arab) 1%

RELIGION:-

Protestant 45%

Roman Catholic 33%

Muslim 10%

Indigenous beliefs 10%

Other 2%

HEALTH:-

Birth rate: 37.89 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 10.3 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 56.01 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 56.64 years

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 95

UNICEF:- UNICEF fights against mother-to-child transmission of HIV by providing training to health workers and society. UNICEF has distributed vitamin A to over 4 million unde-5 children and proper food to thousands of malnourished children, pregnant and lactating women. With the assistance of UNICEF, more than 3 million children are immunized against measles, polio, tetanus and other fatal diseases. Salt iodization programmes improved goitre rates from 16% to 6.8%. UNICEF with its partners provided clean water to more than 200,000 people, built pumps and distributed water-filtration kits. Awareness campaigns on basic hygiene are organized in 38 schools to educate 26000 children. UNICEF distributed education kits in conflict-stricken districts.

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: total: 2,778 km (2006).

Highways: total: 63,265 km; paved: 8,933 km; unpaved: 54,332 km (2004).

Waterways: part of the Lake Victoria system is within the boundaries of Kenya.

Ports and harbors: Kisumu, Lamu, Mombasa.

Airports: 225 (2007).

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