Loruth, Kibish– August 27, 2025 (Public Communications and Media Relations)
The County Government in partnership with UNICEF Kenya and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), have today celebrated the certification of seven villages in Loruth, Kaikor/Kaaleng Ward, Kibish Sub-County as Open Defecation Free (ODF).
The certified villages — Akoros, Natomean, Emunyen A, Emunyen B, Kotome, RukRuk, and Alidat — are part of the Ilemkajokon Community Unit and comprise 354 households with 1,503 residents, including 207 children under five.
According to former Acting Deputy Director Preventive and Promotive, Ismael Ekaran, it’s important that the community understand why having toilets may save lives.
“We are here to ensure the community understands the importance of toilets for prevention of avoidable diseases,” he said.
This achievement is part of the Strengthening County Resilience against WASH-related Climate Crisis in Turkana (SCORE II) project, launched in March 2025. The three-year program, (November 2024–June 2027) seeks to strengthen resilience to climate-related Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) challenges by combining Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) with the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) model.
The Chief of WASH at UNICEF Kenya Haile Gashaw highlighted that Turkana is among the 15 counties in Kenya with a high burden of open defecation.
“Working with the county government, we are making substantial progress to reach more villages. More than 58% are ODF certified, including these seven villages,” he remarked.
SCORE II builds on the successes of SCORE I (ended in 2023), which significantly improved WASH services across Turkana. The ongoing initiative now targets 139,500 rural residents with access to safe water through climate-resilient infrastructure, and aims to certify 620 villages as ODF, benefitting 407,000 people indirectly across Turkana North, Kibish, Loima, and Central sub-counties.
Hwayeong BAE, the Deputy Country Director at KOICA Kenya, shared how pleased she was with the results, stating that Turkana has been a key partner in WASH, one of their key focus.
“We hope to eliminate OD by 2030 together with UNICEF and the county government. The community members here are the most successful part of the project, as we would not have made this achievement without their commitment, ” she expounded.
The change has been transformative in Loruth. The seven villages only had 17 toilets. Following triggering sessions in May 2025, households embraced safe sanitation practices, raising latrine coverage to between 73% and 86%. Handwashing practices also rose from 10% to 80%, while cases of diarrheal disease among children under five were reduced by more than half — from 20 cases in May to only 9 cases by the end of July.
UNICEF Chief of Lodwar Zonal Office Rotuno Kipsang indicated that more than 60% of people in Turkana are still practising OD.
“This means that cases of diarrhoea will continue to rise, endangering the lives of children under the age of five,” he said.
County officials hailed this progress as proof that community-led action, combined with strong partnerships, can rapidly improve health outcomes.
“We are here to celebrate the expemplary success these seven villages have achieved since we triggered behavioural change in May,” said Reiben Kibyego, County WASH Coordinator.
Kibyego called on the community to sustain the gains they have made, sharing that if required measures are not put in place, they will likely step back and lose momentum.
On the other hand, the Kibish Sub-County Medical Officer of Health (MOH), the impact is clear as the community has witnessed a reduction in the number of WASH-related diseases at the facility.
Additionally, David Kasembeli, the Facility-in-charge at Loruth Dispensary, echoed the MOH’s statements, “We now have 194 toilets, and diarrheal-related diseases have also reduced to eight cases from 14 in May,”
The certification of Loruth’s villages is an important marker of progress for SCORE II and a powerful step towards a future where every household in Turkana has access to safe water, improved sanitation, and better health.
Sharing how realistic the triggering process was to the Akorot village, Clement Lotiang, the Community Health Promoter, said that out of the 56 villages he oversees, 44 have toilets. The remaining 12 are being sensitized.
One of the early community adopters, Nely Akai, who has eight children, shared that having had no diseases in her home since May, she now realizes they were living an unhealthy lifestyle.
“We now religiously practice what we learned, including handwashing, boiling water before consumption, and construction and maintenance of toilets,” she stated.
The CHPs in this Sub-County also proactively track pastoralists in order to influence their behaviour change and break down misconceptions.
Story by: Esther Mwangi- Assistant Director, Public Communications and Media Relations
