Lodwar – March 31, 2026 (Public Communication and Media Relations)
The County Government, in partnership with Save the Children International through Turkana Christian Development Mission (TCDM), convened a closeout meeting for the Accelerating Access and Availability of Enhanced Life-Saving Prevention and Treatment Services for Childhood Illnesses and Malnutrition (ACCEPT) project.
The three-year initiative was implemented in Turkana North and Loima sub-counties, focusing on nutrition, health, and sanitation to contribute to the reduction of preventable newborn and child deaths.
The meeting aimed to assess achievements against targets, identify challenges and lessons learned, develop recommendations and action plans for project handover, and disseminate learning on gender equality and disability inclusion.
Speaking during the meeting, County Director for Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, James Lobokan, noted that distance and harsh living conditions in ASAL counties such as Turkana continue to limit access to essential health and nutrition services.
“In Turkana, as in many ASAL regions, distance limits service availability, while harsh living conditions hinder communities from accessing timely health and nutrition care,” he said.
He noted that the ACCEPT project has strengthened Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) through Community Health Promoters (CHPs), bringing services closer to households, particularly for preventable childhood illnesses.
“One of the greatest achievements was the training of 212 CHPs, who now move door-to-door treating common illnesses and guiding caregivers on when and where to seek help,” Lobokan added.
Presenting on project indicator outcomes, Health and Nutrition Coordinator at Save the Children International, Akutan Lobolia, reported significant improvements in access to and uptake of services across the continuum of care.
“Access to and uptake of services improved significantly, with increased screening, treatment uptake, and service availability at the facility level,” he said.
He attributed the improvements to expanded training, supportive supervision, and strengthened system inputs. However, he noted that children aged two to 23 months continue to experience a higher illness burden, requiring sustained programmatic focus.
“Commodities remain a critical barrier to quality care at both facility and community levels, with persistent stock gaps limiting healthcare workers and CHPs from delivering timely treatment,” Lobolia added.
He further observed that limited availability of essential iCCM equipment constrains service delivery.
“This reduces CHPs’ ability to accurately assess, classify, and manage childhood illnesses, leading to missed or delayed diagnoses and increased reliance on referrals,” he said.
Presenting the Turkana North Community Health Services status, Sub-County Community Health Services Coordinator Emily Emoru reported that 15 community units benefited from the project.
“A total of 150 Community Health Committees have been established across the 15 community units, providing governance support and oversight for community health services at the grassroots level,” she said.
She added that the project strengthened CHP technical capacity through training on basic health and nutrition, gender equality, and the rights of children with disabilities.
“These trainings enabled the delivery of quality behaviour change messaging at the household level,” Emoru noted.
Emoru further indicated that 163 Community Health Promoters were trained on Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) to enhance financial literacy and economic resilience.
“The VSLA model has empowered CHPs with skills that support the sustainability of community health services,” she said.
The Loima Sub-County Public Health Nurse, Ezekiel Epetet, noted that the project supported four community health units in Loima and one in Lokiriama.
“The initiative facilitated the training of 43 Community Health Promoters and five Community Health Assistants on iCCM, CMAM, VSLA concepts, Family MUAC, and Community Health Strategy basic modules,” he said.
With strengthened community health committees, communities are now actively involved in supporting health services, ensuring that solutions are locally owned and sustainable.
So far, over 30,000 children under five and more than 14,000 caregivers have been reached, especially in hard-to-reach pastoralist areas.
