Lodwar, 6th December 2022 (Governor’s Press Service)— Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai has acknowledged the contribution of the non-profit aid organisation Fred Hollows Foundation to eyecare programmes in Turkana County.
During a meeting with a delegation from the Foundation, led by Cluster Lead for Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi Jane Ohuma, the Governor said that the partnership had been fruitful in the treatment of cases of trachoma and cataract.
“I am impressed by the organisation’s work in Turkana. You have done great work to treat eye conditions, with over 800 cataract surgeries which have contributed to the drop in prevalence of the cases from 42.3% in 2012 to 7% today,” he said.
The Governor advised the team not to relent, warning that complacency would lead to a reversal of gains made.
He said the capacity building of county facilities to offer quality eyecare will contribute to the sustainability of interventions.
The county chief stated that he was focused on improving access to quality healthcare for residents, and promised to address staff motivation to achieve the objective.
He said: “We are putting in place a mechanism to motivate healthcare staff by availing resources needed. As Council of Governors, we are also deliberating on resource mobilisation to regularise stipends for CHVs who are critical to strengthening primary healthcare.”
Ms Msuma said the Foundation appreciated the partnership with Turkana County due to the county’s readiness to invest in eye care.
“We are very excited by the partnership with the County Government. Turkana is one of the counties which put resources for eye care which is key for sustainability, an objective for us so that when we exit the programmes will continue,” she said.
County Executive for Health and Sanitation Dr Anthony Apalia said the department was learning from outreaches under the Foundation’s Integrated Cataract Programme. He revealed that CHVs were being trained on eyecare and thanked the team for taking the services to hard-to-reach areas of the county.
Ag. Chief Office for Health Dr Gilchrist Lokoel commended the team for embracing CHVs and equipping Katilu Sub County Hospital and LCRH. County Ophthalmology Coordinator Samson Lokele took part in the discussions.
Others in the team were Programme Executive Director Jon Crail, Director of Global Program Implementation Kelvin Story, Head of Government Relations Oliver White, Business Operations Executive Director Claire Yule, Project Officer Rose Gichengo and Global Communication Coordinator Mark Maina.
