Lokiriama, Turkana West – June 17, 2026 (Public Communication and Media Relations)
The County Government, in partnership with the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) Core Group Partners Project (CGPP), has kicked off an eight-day Joint Support Supervision (JSS) across 10 cross-border health facilities and their attached communities in Lokiriama and Turkana West sub-counties. The activity is geared towards assessing facility preparedness and community awareness of zoonotic diseases.
The multi-sectoral team includes sub-county medical officers of health (MOH), the district public health nurse (DPHN), surveillance officers, health records and information officers, and veterinary officers.
At every facility, the team assesses the awareness level of Community Health Promoters (CHPs) and Community Disease Reporters (CDRs) and sensitises them on case identification and referrals; reviews facility data and checks reporting frequencies for each disease; and carries out rapid household surveys.
According to Absolom Kuya, County Disease Surveillance Coordinator, the priority areas of the supervision were disease surveillance, immunization, human resources, and community mobilisation, with the County Health Management Team supporting the sub-county teams.
Speaking on behalf of the Director for Veterinary Services, Dr. John Sang said it is important for the community to be aware of all zoonotic diseases, even rare ones like Anthrax, so that they can easily identify a case and prevent further damage and spread in good time through referral systems.
“In case of a dog bite, you are supposed to immediately clean the wound with running water and soap and rush the patient to the hospital immediately after. This is because rabies symptoms may take up to nine months to appear, and by the time they show, the effects will be terminal,” Dr. Sang said.
Abdi Jamal, Project Manager, IRC’s CGPP noted that this was the first visit back in Lokiriama since last July, though JSS activities are planned quarterly; the last two were carried out in Lokichoggio, Turkana West, and Kibish sub-counties in December 2025 and March 2026.
“We carry out routine supervisions to keep our cross-border communities enlightened and educated on case identification and definition, to ensure some of these deadly diseases do not go unnoticed and untreated,” he added.
Calling on the community to include dogs in livestock vaccination activities, he reassured residents that vaccinations are available.
Margaret Lotot, a Traditional Birth Attendant (TBA), said she has witnessed “Donkeys among other livestock behaving like dogs, running around causing havoc and biting into everything,” She added, “I understand how deadly Anthrax is even a drop of blood or a bite of meat from an infected animal can kill,”
Mercy Maraka, a mother of two children under five from Lorengipi, shared the zoonotic diseases she is aware of, noting that her area’s Community Mobilizer visits frequently. “Learning about these symptoms will help me protect my family, by understanding what I need to do immediately before rushing to the hospital,” she said.
“We are missing the cold chain component, if we had that support, it would make a huge difference in our immunization coverage,” said Richard Lowoto, Lokiriama MOH.
According to Jully Lopemlo, Community Health Assistant at Lokiriama Dispensary, these JSS visits help sub-county teams understand their areas of weakness, sharpen their data-reporting skills, and give them an opportunity to raise their challenges with the CHMT.
The cross-border communities are also be sensitized on Ebola Virus Disease that is already fatal on the other side of the border in Uganda, and further in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
