Strengthening community health services and tapping Social Health Authority (SHA) funds have been identified as the main ways to sustain emergency health and nutrition services in Turkana County as donor funding shrinks.

The priorities emerged at the close-out meeting for Phase I of the six-month Emergency Integrated Nutrition and WASH Response Project.

The County Government implemented it with Save the Children Kenya (SCI) across 10 sub-counties. The Eastern and Southern Africa Humanitarian Fund (ESAHF) funded it to reduce acute malnutrition among hard-to-reach and mobile populations.

The project ran 184 outreach sites offering nutrition screening, immunization, antenatal and postnatal care, child welfare services and WASH interventions. The County Government supplied 10,133 bags of Corn Soya Blend (CSB++), and partners supported 33 additional outreach sessions. UNICEF supported WASH services, and World Vision’s unconditional cash transfers reached 8,950 households.

Chief Officer for Preventive and Promotive Health Services Agnes Mana said the project complemented government efforts and that its lessons would inform future programming.

“Taking services to our people through integrated outreaches is key, especially for mobile populations along the migratory routes,” she said. She called for stronger household visits, defaulter tracing and targeted interventions through school health and One Health ‘kimormor’ approaches. She also said the county’s 66 per cent immunization coverage needs attention.

UNICEF Kenya Health and Nutrition Coordinator Francis Kidake urged cost-effective, government-led service delivery and putting communities at the centre of planning. “We are not going to run away from outreaches. Turkana is not yet at the WHO threshold, so we must find the best ways to sustain them even with shifts in donor funding,” he said. He asked health teams to draw on documented evidence, including the R-SWITCH study and Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) experience.

The meeting identified SHA funds as a possible source of support for facility-led outreach. Kakelae and Kaaleng health facilities already use this approach.

SCI Programme Manager for Turkana Shariff Abdalla reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to working with the county government and health partners. He credited the project’s results to partnerships built over the years.

The meeting brought together county health officials and partners to review achievements and shape the next phase of emergency health and nutrition programming.

By Peter Gitonga