Gardy Chacha

Kenya, Nairobi

Contributor at Freelance

Journalist at The Standard (Kenya)

Award winning journalist. @EJN 2025 FELLOW Opinions entirely my own: except on journalistic work.

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Articles

Alice Mbere: My life at 2ft tall

1 month ago | standardmedia.co.ke | Gardy Chacha

Alice Mbere: My life at 2ft tall (Photo: Stafford Ondego, Standard)When Alice Mbere was around five years old, her parents noticed that she was not growing taller. Alice is the fifth child among nine siblings. Her parents had prior experience of what normal growth and development looked like. “They started taking me to doctors, one after another. Each doctor had their own diagnosis. Some said bone problems. Another suggested surgery. And so on. But none of them provided a solution.
Relief as 24 diagnostic machines to be installed at county hospitals

1 month ago | standardmedia.co.ke | Gardy Chacha

National Equipment Service Programme is expected to ensure delpoyment of diagnostic equipment to public hospitals. [Courtesy]The era of severely sick patients from rural areas seeking specialised care in the capital Nairobi, or other major cities, could be coming to an end if the latest developments in the National Equipment Service Programme (NESP) progress as intended.
My life at 2ft tall: Alice Mbere's inspiring journey

1 month ago | standardmedia.co.ke | Gardy Chacha

Alice Mbeere an 85cm woman living with a disability known as short stature during an Interview with The Standard Media Group reporter Gardy Chacha in Kahawa West on May 02, 2025. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]When Alice Mbere was around five years old her parents noticed that she was not growing taller. Alice is the fifth child among nine siblings. Her parents had prior experience of what normal growth and development looked like. “They started taking me to doctors: one after another.
First steps into danger: New study shows bloody urine disease affects breast feeding children too

1 month ago | standardmedia.co.ke | Gardy Chacha

Mass drug administration for Bilharzia. New study reveals shocking infection rates of the disease in infants under two. [Courtesy]A study published in August 2020 in the PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases journal indicates that children within the breastfeeding age bracket are also at significant risk of contracting bilharzia. Titled “Prevalence and Risk Factors of Schistosoma mansoni Infection Among Children Under Two Years of Age in Mbita, Western Kenya”, the study confirmed the presence of S.
Study: Suckling children at risk of bilharzia too

1 month ago | standardmedia.co.ke | Gardy Chacha

Mass drug administration for Bilharzia. [Courtesy]A study published in August 2020, in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases journal indicates that children in the breastfeeding bracket are also at high risk of getting sick from bilharzia. Titled ‘Prevalence and risk factors of Schistosoma mansoni infection among children under two years of age in Mbita, Western Kenya’, the study confirmed the existence of S. mansoni infection in young pre-school children as young as 8 months old.
Hope for women with fibroids as new treatment saves fertility

2 months ago | standardmedia.co.ke | Gardy Chacha

Fibroids are non-cancerous growths in the uterus that can cause pain heavy bleeding and discomfort in women. It is no surprise, therefore, that a woman might choose to have them removed.
Pay gap: Why a woman earns Sh27 less for every Sh100 by a man

2 months ago | standardmedia.co.ke | Gardy Chacha

The What Women Want Summit took place last month at the Trade Mark Hotel in Nairobi. One of the breakout sessions addressed the gender pay gap, the premise being that men earn more than women for the same job. “Earning good money is part of a woman’s emancipation. The truth is that men got a head start at making money. Women are playing catch-up. A woman cannot be fully emancipated if she cannot afford to pay bills. “For us we no longer want to just earn: we want to be paid our worth.
Endometriosis ruined my joy, health, and almost took my life

Mar 30, 2025 | standardmedia.co.ke | Gardy Chacha

On a fateful day in 2018, June Kathoki, then just 27, swallowed an entire container of pills and lay down to sleep, hoping she would wake in the celestial realm of the departed. Fate had other plans. June is a Health Records Officer at a local hospitalInstead of slipping away, she awoke violently, her body convulsing as she expelled the very substances meant to end her life. “I woke up, vomiting my guts out,” she recalls. It was her first suicide attempt.
Crisis in the soil: Fertilizer shortage and depleting land risk food security

Mar 25, 2025 | standardmedia.co.ke | Gardy Chacha

The planting season is approaching in Kenya’s breadbasket areas, in line with the March-April-May rains. Farmers are already queuing at National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) outlets to purchase subsidized fertilizer. However, there is a shortage in supply. A spot-check by The Standard in Bomet and Kitale shows that farmers have been left in suspense as NCPB outlets are out of stock.
Regina Kimanthi: Diagnosed with arthritis at 38, now battling diabetes at 48

Mar 16, 2025 | standardmedia.co.ke | Gardy Chacha

At the age of 38, Regina Kimanthi was diagnosed with arthritis in 2015, following recurrent and unexplained joint pain and fatigue. “I have been on arthritis medication ever since,” she says. But sometimes, she runs out of medicine and is forced to endure the pain. As a resident of Malawi village in Makueni County, money is scarce. After all, poverty is a constant challenge that she and her fellow villagers face.