Lodwar – February 21, 2025 (Public Communications and Media Relations)
Over 30 health workers have been trained to improve the management of preventable and treatable childhood illnesses, which are the leading causes of mortality and morbidity among children under five years old.
The health workers were using the Integrated Management of Newborn and Childhood Illnesses (IMNCI) guide, which covers interventions for preventing and treating common illnesses such as diarrhoea, pneumonia, malnutrition and malaria.
The 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey indicates that Turkana County’s under-five mortality rate stands at 55 per 1,000 live births, while the national average is 41 per 1,000.
The County Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health Coordinator, Dr Fatuma Rajab, stated that health workers were trained to recognize symptoms and danger signs and to treat and refer severe cases for urgent management.
“The IMNCI strategy acknowledges that a sick child may present multiple symptoms simultaneously; therefore, the management and treatment of any illness should follow an integrated approach to save lives,” she said.
The health workers were drawn from facilities located in Turkana Central, Kibish, Lokiriama, and Loima sub-counties.
The Facility In-charge of Kibish GOK Dispensary in Kibish, Dennis Nyongesa, emphasized that proper IMNCI classification of conditions and treatment significantly improves child health outcomes.
In Turkana Central, Kanamkemer Sub-county Hospital, a high-volume facility, treats over 100 children under five every day. The Facility In-charge, Stephen Chemwor, stated that the structured diagnosis in IMNCI and corresponding management ensures that every child receives the appropriate treatment.
The training is part of an 18-month pilot project implemented by Save the Children, funded by UNICEF Kenya, and conducted in partnership with the Kenya Medical Research Institute. The project aims to strengthen the capacity of health workers in the county to deliver both nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive services.
The project, titled “Implementation of an Operational Research Pilot on Integrating Treatment of Acute Malnutrition and Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) in ASAL Counties of Kenya,” is being carried out in collaboration with the Turkana Christian Development Mission and the County Health and Sanitation Department.
“Our focus is on enhancing the capacity of health workers to deliver both nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive services, which will significantly improve child health outcomes and help reduce under-five mortality in Turkana County,” said Nelson Akutan, Senior Programme Coordinator at Save the Children International.
He added that the first training focused on the Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition, targeting a different group of health workers who play a crucial role in providing quality health services.
The training facilitators included Samuel Lokemer (Head of Clinical Services), Dr Wa Yaa and Kennedy Wasilwa (Head of Clinical Officers) from Lodwar County Referral Hospital, Abdirahaman Musa (Lokiriama Sub-county Medical Officer of Health), and Lodwar County Referral Hospital).
