The rainfall patterns over Uganda particularly western Uganda shows a high degree of spatial and temporal variability compared to other meteorological parameters such as temperature, pressure and wind among others. The study's main objective was to examine the relationship between the Congo Air mass and the rainfall characteristics over Western Uganda. The datasets used in this study included monthly rainfall data obtained from four meteorological stations (Kabale, Mbarara, Kasese and Masindi) spanning a period of 29 years from 1989 to 2018, monthly wind data from ERA-Interim reanalysis, with spatial resolution of 0.250 by 0.250 and specific humidity data at different pressure levels (500,700 and 850hPa) all retrieved from (http://apps.ecmwf.int). Annual rainfall results showed increasing trends in only three stations (Masindi, Mbarara and Kabale) (0.013, 0.016 and 0.002) while Kasese (-0.048) had a decreasing trend, however these trends at all the four stations are not statistically significant (P>0.05). Coefficient of variation results indicated lower Coefficient of Variations (≤ 20%) for all the stations in Western Uganda implying that the annual rainfall weakly deviated away from the mean value during the study period. Moisture results from the four stations generally indicated significant moisture increase at 500hPa level while insignificant moisture variations at 700 and 850hPa at all the four stations. Generally, results for linkages between circulations over Congo basin and rainfall over Western Uganda depicted weak relationship between wind speed at 500,700 and 850hPa levels at all the four stations however, significant relationship was more observed at 500hPa level compared to other levels. This therefore concludes that Congo westerlies are associated with wet days in all seasons, and they are the largest contributor to rainfall during the second rains. However, the frequency of Congo westerlies does not appear to be related to interannual rainfall variability and thus not the cause of increased rainfall in western Uganda.

The study focused on the knowledge on TB, stigma and health seeking behaviours among adult patients at Kiswa Health Centre IV. The objectives were to examine the relationship between the knowledge on TB, stigma and health seeking behaviours among adult TB patients. Patients confront several problems in timely and effective utilization of TB health facilities which have often delayed diagnosis of TB. It is hence the need of the hour to look beyond the case detection rates towards other factors that can promote early diagnosis. A method, cross-sectional study was conducted among adult who were on medication for the intensive phase of treatment. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used to study knowledge, stigma, health seeking behaviours and treatment out comes. The average number of patients with adequate knowledge about tuberculosis and women had a significantly higher knowledge score than the male patients due to their life style like smoking and sharing local brew sipping tubes.

This study was conducted in order to identify the number of residential houses which have been constructed since plan was made, causes of illegal residential developments, their impacts on the urban setting, authority(council), and the possible strategies to minimize these illegal constructions in Namutumba town Council specifically the central. While in the field, various methods of data collection such as in-depth interview, administered questionnaire, documentary review and sampling method were applied. Observation was used in this research and the researcher remained a passive observer, observing activities to draw conclusions from them and this technique helped to identify the level of conformity of the proposed physical development plan current activities in the Ward. Interview method was mainly be used to collect qualitative data to a larger extent as it involved discussion of ideas and interactions between a researcher and a selected person(s) using open ended questions to gain a deep insight in the topic. This engagement was a person-to-person interaction and with this method I was able to find out the percentage of landowners with development permission and those without, causes of the illegal developments and other information using this method and the last method I used was the questionnaire method which involved the use of pre-determined questions printed on papers which was delivered in person to the respondents to be answered in writing for example questions to be asked included; Do you have a building a building permit, if no then why?, Do you have a building plan, if no then why? It was the above methods that I used to collect data while in the field which data I analyzed to come up with the findings and then I drew a conclusion and recommendations. This study was presented in five chapters, chapter one covered introduction of the study, chapter two, literature review, chapter three, research methodology, chapter four, presentation and discussion of the research findings and chapter five, the conclusions and recommendations.

Introduction: In Uganda, 1 in every 1000 women who are having a vaginal birth are at risk of sustaining Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injuries (OASIs). There are two known surgical techniques of repair of OASIs; end to end and overlapping. There is a knowledge gap on which method of repair of chronic OASIs has better outcomes. This randomized controlled trial compared the outcomes of end to end versus overlapping techniques of repair of chronic OASIs. The primary objective of this study was to compare the proportion of women with flatal-faecal incontinence 3 months post repair. Methods: This was a non-inferiority Randomised Controlled Trial conducted in the Uro-gynaecology department of Mulago National Referral Hospital. The sample size was 104 with each arm having 52 participants. The primary outcome was the proportion of women with flatal-faecal incontinence 3 months post repair while the secondary outcomes were; wound breakdown, perineal pain, blood loss and duration of surgery. Data was entered into STATA version 13.0 software for analysis. The primary outcome was evaluated using Per Protocol (PP) and Intention to Treat (ITT) analysis. A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Of the 104 participants randomised, 98 returned for follow up. Analysis by Per protocol found the proportion of participants who developed flatal-faecal incontinence in the end to end arm was 1/48 (2.08%) and 1/50 (2.00%) in the overlapping arm (Risk Ratio 1.04, Confidence Interval 0.06-15.77 and P-value 0.136). Analysis by Intention to treat found the proportion of participants with flatal-faecal incontinence was 1/52 in the end to end arm and 1/52 in the overlapping arm (Risk Ratio 1.00, Confidence interval 0.08-16.00 and P-value 0.258). Conclusions and recommendations: This study found that there was no statistically significant difference in flatal-faecal incontinence, perineal pain and wound breakdown between end to end and overlapping techniques of repair of chronic OASIs. Mean intraoperative blood loss was less in the end to end arm as compared to the overlapping arm. The end to end technique of repair is therefore less inferior to the overlapping technique hence surgeons are encouraged to use the end to end technique.

This project reinforces waste water management in a holistic manner in order to have a minimal impact of waste water to the environment. This includes sources of water for use to disposal of used water in Mathare North and link between wastewater management in Mathare North in relation to Nairobi as a whole and globally in order to develop mechanisms to help address wastewater management. The project also explores potentials and challenges of wastewater management in Mathare North with respective to Nairobi in its entirety. The project then considers policies, legislative and institutional framework when it comes to wastewater management in Kenya. Waste water management requires incorporation of all the issues that influence wastewater generation in which 75% of it ends up in the environment to help in planning and development of waste management initiatives. All stakeholders‘ involvement is crucial to getting and implementing views of different sectors of the population. There are different types of wastewater which require different technologies to manage to help reduce cost of realizing wastewater management. In addition, there are different purposes for wastewater management which must be considered and addressed which are regarded as components wastewater management. Theoretical framework of the project incorporates planning, participation, advocacy and funding with regard to consideration of environmental impacts of the activities. The project embraces investigate research where primary and secondary data has been collected and collated to develop mechanisms that addresses wastewater.

The traditional approach for coping with urban flooding has been linear whereby all the rainwater that has fallen over a wide area is conveyed to and managed by sewers or rivers lines. When the carrying capacity is insufficient, possible counter measures are considered only to the line; denoting the upsizing of the sewer, widening of the rivers or increasing the pumping capacity. Due to heavier and unpredictable rainfall, the water conveyance system in the whole sub-county is limited, thus requiring upgrading of another method of containing the excess water. The water management approach worldwide is currently in transition, with a shift evident from purely centralised infrastructure to greater consideration of decentralised technologies, such as rainwater harvesting (RWH). Initiated by recognition of drivers including increasing water demand and increasing risk of flooding, the value of RWH is beginning to filter across the academic-policy boundary. However, in Kenya, implementation of RWH systems is not straight forward due to social and technical barriers, concerns and knowledge gaps exist, which currently restrict its widespread utilisation. (Ward, S., Butler, D., Barr, S. and Memon, F.A. 2009) Rainwater harvesting as a supplementary source of water has not received any serious attention. This research investigates the potential of roof catchment collection, storing and using rainwater in Mavoko sub-county, Machakos County. The importance of this study lies in severe flooding in some areas of Mavoko particularly in its satellite town which are experiencing rapidly population and development growth in the sub-county. So many people are affected when floods occur and furthermore the current water supply system is not adequate to provide enough water for the growing population. Mavoko has a tropical climate, with rainy months from March to May and October to December, with approximately 118 days of rain in the year and an annual precipitation of 40 inches (Kenya Meteorology Department, 2011). Considering the chronic water scarcity in the sub-county, a considerable amount of homes have elevated or underground water storage tanks installed to provide water for their daily use. These two observations make rainwater catchment systems a great option to be considered because the approach takes advantage of the opportunities the town’s climate as well as existing infrastructure.

Kenya has a large housing deficit which is growing every year and is increasingly prevalent in urban areas including Thika. According to the Ministry of Housing, the current annual housing deficit is estimated at 156,000 units per annum based on the population growth and urban migration currently taking place. The pace of construction is limited with only 50,000 units constructed and the deficit filled by growth in slum dwelling and poor quality traditional housing (Walley, 2011). Makongeni serves as an economic and residential hub of Thika town. Makongeni was conceived in 1970 with the intention of providing sufficient plots to accommodate around 60 per cent of the predicted population growth in Thika.The rate of construction of buildings in Makongeni is high to accommodate the rising number of people looking for settlements. The major concern is that almost none of the building adopts the green sustainable design or technologies available in the market during their construction or occupational phases. Thus there will be an increase in the consumption and demand of building materials, energy, water, and improve indoor environmental health which in the long run will not be sustainable. This research seeks to assess the level of sustainable building designs and explores technologies that can be incorporated into building design to make them sustainable.