Sophie Mbugua

@sophie_dans @Smbuguah

Sophie Mbugua is an Environmental Journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya, specializing in Climate Change reporting. Sophie produces and presents the Africa Climate Conversations Podcast - a weekly 30 minutes podcast highlighting the climate change story from the African perspective. Sophie spends her days shaping the African Climate Change narrative through radio, photography, online articles, social media, and as a media consultant helping organizations bridge the climate change communication gaps by facilitating and coordinating their press relations. Over the years, her work has been published both locally in Kenya, regionally and globally with the BBC Science Radio, Mongabay, Climate Home News, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Deutsche Welle (DW), the Continent, the Humanitarian, HuffPost, Daily Nation, the East African, the Star, among others.

Programs
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Reporting

| Sophie Mbugua

Flooding and drought fuels mental health crisis in Kenya

About a year ago, Pauline Yator, a 50-year-old mother of seven from Baringo county in Kenya’s Rift Valley, said she almost went mad. “The farm I had called home for nearly 30 years was completely…
| Sophie Mbugua

Conservation research not a priority for Kenyans, says Senior Warden

Located in the Rift Valley, Lake Bogoria National Reserve is a stunning place. It is adorned by a pink cloud of flamingos and geysers bubbling with the most spectacular hot water volcanic springs. But unfortunately, James Kimaru,…
| Sophie Mbugua

Climate-related loss and damage: Who pays?

Climate impacts such as floods, droughts, firestorms, shifting seasons, sea-level rise, salt-water intrusion, the spread of vector-borne diseases, and devastation from cyclones and other extreme weather events are becoming more frequent than before. In Kenya’s…
| Sophie Mbugua

Displaced and forgotten: Kenya’s Rift Valley lake’s floods a year later.

Have the persons displaced by the 2020 flooding Kenya’s Rift Valley Lakes been forgotten? As Kenya rolls out a Covid-19 vaccination drive amid the country struggling with the third wave, communities displaced by the flooding…
| Sophie Mbugua

Culture – a panacea to the high mental health treatment gap?

Mental health problems in Kenya and Africa are often interpreted from either a religious or traditional perspective influenced by a person’s cultural perceptions. These perceptions impact not just the provision of care but also determines…
| Sophie Mbugua

Mental Health: why are Kenyan youths turning to drugs?

This week, we are still staying in Murang’a county. Today, we talk to Joseph Mbai County Executive Committee member in charge of Health Murang’a County. He ascertains that three people are dying every week due…
| Sophie Mbugua

How does this GIS tool monitor landslides?

In many countries, some landslide-prone areas are known. But often, communities seem to be caught unaware when these landslides hit. Also read wrecked by Landslide: No place to call home three years on.  How do…
| Sophie Mbugua

Wrecked by Landslide: No place to call home three years on.

Today’s episode features a family, victims of a landslide from Gitugi village in Mathioya, Murang’a County in central Kenya. About three years ago, a landslide struck in the middle of the night. Taking away 39-year…
| Sophie Mbugua

There is no health without Mental Health warns experts.

Leonard Nasoro, a mental health specialist from Kilifi, Kenya says that Kilifi County in Kenya has three practicing mental health specialists against a population of about 1.4 million. Mental health is allocated less than 0.5% of…
| Sophie Mbugua

No, Mental Illness is not Madness says Experts

In today’s episode, we talk to Elias Fondo, the Kilifi County Mental Health Clinical officer, Leonard Nasoro, a mental health specialist, and a nurse at the Kilifi County Hospital. They tell us that uncertainty due…
| Sophie Mbugua

Kilifi: Where drought and flood devastates at the same time

This week’s episode takes you to Kilifi, Kenya – home to Watamu and Malindi’s sandy beaches. The only permanent river – River Sabaki – emanating from Kenya’s Aberdare Ranges west of Central Kenya floods each…
| Sophie Mbugua

How is the changing climate affecting mental health?

In Kenya, one out of every four Kenyans suffer a mental illness in their lifetime. Natural disasters like flooding are becoming prevalent, and, in some counties, communities are struggling with disasters interchanging between flooding and drought, not giving…
| Sophie Mbugua

A hot East Africa: But how hot?

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reports indicate 2020 was one of the three warmest years on record after 2019 and 2016. In today’s episode, Dr. Abubakar Salih Babikier, a climate scientist from IGAD Climate Prediction…
| Sophie Mbugua

A DANGEROUS, ILLEGAL NECESSITY: CHARCOAL REFORM COMES TO VIRUNGA

Like elsewhere in Africa, charcoal has become a big problem for Virunga National Park. Illegal production in the park has been high in recent years as producers try to meet the demand from the millions…