Lodwar, 5th March 2025 (Governor’s Press Service) -Turkana County is set to benefit from a KOICA-UNICEF water project aimed at improving resilience to WASH-related climate crises, sanitation, and hygiene in four sub-counties: Loima, Turkana Central, Kibish, and Turkana North.
The ‘Strengthening County Resilience against WASH-related Climate Crisis in Turkana’ (SCORE II) Project will be officially launched on Thursday in Lodwar. The project seeks to address the deficit in water supply infrastructure by constructing community water points and rehabilitating existing boreholes.
This will increase both access and availability of water during normal dry seasons and extreme climatic events such as droughts.
During a briefing with Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai at the County Headquarters, Chief of UNICEF Zonal Office Rotuno Kipsang explained that the project will construct and rehabilitate 41 boreholes and water supply systems across the four sub-counties. He revealed that a joint technical team is already working to identify suitable sites for implementation.
Governor Lomorukai acknowledged the success of the KOICA-UNICEF partnership, citing impactful water projects in Turkana Central and Loima subcounties during the initiative’s first phase.
“As the former MP for Loima, I witnessed the transformative impact of water projects undertaken by KOICA-UNICEF. We have a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), and we are committed to continuing this collaboration,” said the Governor.
He also called for support from partner organizations to aid victims of the recent Todonyang attack, noting that the county is mobilizing resources to address the crisis.
“Apart from the loss of lives, our people have had their livelihoods severely affected. Over 56 boats and 560 nets were lost, and they urgently require our support,” he added.
Rotuno highlighted that the SCORE project complements other UNICEF interventions in health, nutrition, education, child protection, and social protection already underway in the county.
Chief of WASH at UNICEF Haile Gashaw, emphasized that the KOICA-UNICEF partnership is being implemented exclusively in Turkana and appreciated the Governor’s demonstrated commitment to the initiative.
Also present in the meeting were Chief Officer for the Office of the Governor Moses Korea, Director of Protocol Peter Lomauge and UNICEF WASH Specialist Jackson Mutia,
