Lodwar- July 2, 2025 (Public Communication and Media Relations)

The County Government has held its last quarter Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) forum for the year 2024-2025, amid calls for partners to craft a united response aimed at improving WASH across the county and avert potential disease outbreaks such as the ongoing Cholera outbreak.

Speaking at the forum, CEC for water services Willyjustus Lopeyok said that the recent cases of cholera in the county may have been occasioned by loopholes in the County’s water and sanitation systems, calling for increased vigilance by the County Government and sector partners.

“There is need for partners implementing WASH interventions to Integrate water quality control measures. Failure to do so could undo gains made so far,” he remarked.

Additionally, the CECM raised concerns over the increasing use of River Turkwel water for unregulated mining activities, saying such practices risk turning the critical water resource into a health hazard.

Chief Officer for water services Eng Mark Achilla re-affirmed the County’s commitment to partnering with WASH partners in strengthening systems that guarantee safe water access for communities.

“This is the forum through where water services providers meets sanitation and hygiene service providers. The County will continue to address water safety and health concerns through this forum,” Chief Mark Achilla explained.

The County WASH Coordinator, Reuben Kibyego said that discussions also centred around the need for extra vigilance on far flung water resources and hard to reach areas. He noted that waterborne diseases could escalate unnoticed in those areas before spreading to major towns.

According to the Co-Chair of the WASH forum technical working group and Director of Water Services Paul Lotum said that the meeting had yielded resolutions that would be binding to all partners.

While echoing the position shared by the CECM, Director Lotum pointed that scores of Wash partners had already Intergrated water quality in their programming.

Urging for increased collaboration on water safety and quality undertakings, Director Lotum said “A very good example is Water Mission, they even have water quality laboratory testing equipment that could be shared by other partners,”

The Regional Manager at Water Mission Anthony Ondicho, confirmed readiness of the organization to provide technical support on water quality testing and analysis stating, “Our facility is open to both the government and humanitarian agencies,” he said.

More than 15 partners attended and made presentations on the gains realized in the past year as well experienced challenges during the implementation period.