Lodwar, 1st Sept 2024 (Public Communications and Media Relations)

Turkana County’s Deputy Governor, Dr. John Erus, hosted a delegation from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on a courtesy call to his office to introduce a newly appointed expert on the Promotion of Humanitarian Development Nexus in Refugee Affairs, Hanatani Atsushi.

The meeting also provided a platform to deliberate on the recent data collection survey on service improvements in Kakuma and Kalobeyei conducted by JICA to collect baseline data on the status of water infrastructure, sanitation services, and health programs.

Additionally, the team briefed Dr. Erus on other JICA interventions in Turkana on food security, nutrition, and knowledge transfer initiatives for better mitigation of climate change impacts on refugee and host communities.

Dr. Erus acknowledged the significant contributions of JICA in promoting the socioeconomic inclusion of refugees through the Shirika plan.

“We are fully committed to supporting the Shirika plan, which aims to alleviate the pressure on host communities and enhance self-reliance for both refugees and the host population,” he stated.

The Deputy Governor also urged JICA to implement mechanised systems for sharing information, which would generate evidence of successful projects and integrate all programs focused on building resilience among both refugees and the host community.

JICA representative Abednego Osindi outlined their ongoing interventions in Turkana, which include water provision, food security, nutrition, resource mobilisation, and capacity building.

He emphasised that Shirika plan was sufficiently inclusive hence benefiting education, health, livelihoods, social protection, and environmental management.

“The Shirika Plan is a collaborative effort between the Government of Kenya and UNHCR to facilitate these interventions,” Osindi added.

Prior to visiting the DGs office, the JICA team also held discussions with the CECM for Water Services, Patrick Losike Lokaimoe, on the implementation of water projects.

The meeting was also attended by Raphael Logum, Director of Resource Mobilisation.