Lodwar, August 25, 2026 (Public Communication and Media Relations)
The County Government in partnership with UNICEF and other Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) partners met to review findings of an audit exercise of UNICEF-led a SCORE II project currently under implementation in Turkana North and Kibish sub counties
The audit exercise assessed 512 water sources across six wards, with 228 of 395 boreholes (58%), found to be fully functional, directly serving and supporting 56% of the area’s population.
In his remarks, Daniel Esimit, Director, Preventive and Promotive Services, acknowledged the longstanding partnership between the WASH partners, noting that the collaboration had also contributed to communities achieving Open Defecation Free (ODF) status.
“We acknowledge the support received from partners as we have celebrated a number of villages achieving ODF status. It is my urge that more triggering is done for even better outcomes,” Esimit said.
He called for the water audit to be replicated across the county to establish an updated database of water systems that can support evidence-based planning and decision-making.
“On the audit of water systems done in Turkana North and Kibish, the same should be replicated across the county so that we have an updated database of all our water system information at any given time,” he said.
Esimit also emphasized the importance of WASH in disease prevention and emergency preparedness, particularly at designated Ebola preparedness centres, noting that adequate WASH services should form part of the emergency response mechanism.
County Public Health Officer, Irine Mana said the county, in partnership with Welthungerhilfe, had identified 21 schools and 10 healthcare facilities to benefit from improved sanitation facilities.
She added that construction of twin gender-sensitive sanitation facilities was ongoing in seven schools and five health facilities, while 683 personnel, including Community Health Promoters, Community Health Officers, Public Health Officers and water officers, had been trained on climate-resilient Community-Led Total Sanitation.
Mana added 187 villages under SCORE II have so far been certified as ODF, representing 30% of the villages triggered under the program, with 26 additional villages targeted for certification by the end of August.
Representing UNICEF, Jackson Mutia reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting bi-weekly SCORE II progress update meetings to strengthen coordination, track implementation, and accelerate results among WASH partners.
Mutia said the project had supported the water systems audit in Turkana North and Kibish, resulting in a live, cloud-based CoDuSYS water sources register capturing the 512 audited sources and 219 newly added water points.
Each water point has been assigned a unique QR code, allowing information to be updated regularly and providing the county government and partners with a reliable database for monitoring, planning, and decision-making.
The audit further established that 55% of the water sources were managed by community water committees with the involvement of the local area Water Resource Users Associations.
In his closing remarks, Director of Water Services Paul Lotum, emphasized the importance of WASH in emergency preparedness, particularly at designated Ebola response centres.
“Without proper WASH systems in place, it would be like fighting a battle with no weapons,” Lotum said.
He further noted that the audit dashboard aligns well with the County Government’s policy and planning systems, describing it as an important resource for both the county government and partners in delivering timely and measurable impact.
The multi-agency meeting brought together the County Government, UNICEF, Water Resource Authority, Ministry of Water Services, Diocese of Lodwar, Welthungerhilfe, Team and Team International, and Plan International to strengthen coordination and accelerate implementation of SCORE II WASH interventions across Turkana County.
