Lokiriama– August 20, 2025 (Public Communications and Media Relations)

Communities in Lokiriama today became the new face of an ongoing regional push to safeguard border populations from future pandemics under the Preparedness for Pandemic Response (PREPARE) Programme.

This is a three-year initiative supported by the Pandemic Fund and implemented by the County Government in collaboration with the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS), and supported by World Health Organisation (WHO), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) as delivery partners.

The programme, running across seven IGAD member states, including Kenya, is anchored on the One Health approach – recognizing the deep connection between human, animal, and environmental health.

In Turkana, PREPARE is focusing on high-risk cross-border sites such as Lokiriama, Nadapal, and Kalobeyei Refugee Operations, where migration patterns and daily cross-border movements increase vulnerability to epidemics.

Speaking during the inception meeting, Kipkorir Rotich, County One Health Coordinator, said that PREPARE revitalizes Turkana’s One Health coordination by ensuring that border communities are the first line of defense against outbreaks.

“This approach strengthens how we protect people, animals, and the environment together,” he added.

PREPARE aims to strengthen One Health components in border settings, establish robust early warning and surveillance systems, and enhance community healthcare workers’ human resource capacity, improve coordination and governance, and finally strengthen laboratory diagnostic capacities to support rapid detection.

In its first phase, running until September 2025, PREPARE is focusing on mapping stakeholders and cross-border actors, training health and community teams, and conducting surveys to understand communication landscapes and trusted channels of information.

Abdirhaman Musa, Lokiriama Medical Officer of Health, noted that these early steps are vital for a high-risk setting like Lokiriama.

“Communities here interact daily across the border, and untreated diseases can easily spread. Training and surveillance will give us the tools to stop outbreaks before they escalate,” he said.

From Phase Two onwards, the project will deepen into surveillance strengthening, outbreak response, risk communication, and community engagement (RCCE), ensuring that communities themselves are better prepared to detect and respond to health threats before they escalate.

KRCS, as the lead national partner, will be instrumental in ensuring that communities are not just beneficiaries but active participants in shaping preparedness strategies.

Fredrick Chepkwony, PREPARE Project Assistant. KRCS explained that this initiative couldn’t have come at a better time.

“Why now? We are grappling with pandemic diseases from cross-border regions such as Cholera cases in Nadapal. This project is here to help us reduce these notifiable diseases from coming into the country,” he reassured.

Chepkwony alsonstated that by building capacity for surveillance and early warning, we can detect diseases faster and reduce their spread.

The meeting in Lokiriama brought together county government officials, technical teams, development partners, and community representatives. The team co-developed plans for revitalizing cross-border health committees and setting up community-based surveillance teams.

The national and county government administrators pledged close collaboration with technical officers to ensure that Lokiriama remains at the frontline of cross-border pandemic preparedness.

Paul Lonyuduk, Lokiriama Sub-County Administrator, reaffirmed government’s commitment.

“As administrators, our role is to coordinate partners and communities so that preparedness is not just a plan but a reality on the ground. We are committed to making this programme succeed,” he reinstated.

Community members, who will play a key role in the surveillance and information-sharing systems, expressed optimism that with training and involvement, they can help detect diseases early and protect their families.

Cecilia Lotelej, a community member, shared that the community welcomes this project. She, however, called for more sensitization and training.

“Once empowered with the necessary information, we can play our part in protecting families from diseases,” she said.

PREPARE promises resilience by combining government leadership, partner expertise, and community action.