THE HORN OF AFRICA: Drought & water-related diseases

I just came back from a mission to Turkana (northern Kenya). Here's the story I filed:

Worst drought in 60 years

It is hard living in Turkana. In addition to biting poverty, recurrent droughts and floods, a poor state of infrastructure and limited access to basic health care, the region is being ravaged by the worst drought in 60 years.

Turkana, nestled in north-west Kenya, has been hit hard by the drought. Two years of scarce rains have resulted in the driest season since 1950. The effects of the drought look set to continue into 2012. Loss of pasture and water has led to the death of thousands of cattle, a main source of livelihood for pastoralist communities, who are most affected by the drought.

“I lost half my herd of goats this season; I have been here 55 years and lived through many droughts, but I have never seen things this bad,” says Ereng Nangiro, one of the 12 million people affected.

Weak health systems

Sprawling empty arid land stretches for miles. The nearest health centre is kilometres away, leaving pastoralist communities in remote areas of Turkana vulnerable. With limited access to safe drinking water and basic health care, water-related diseases like diarrhoea and cholera are ongoing challenges.

Worldwide, around 1.1 billion people lack access to improved water sources and 2.4 billion have no basic sanitation. Water-related diseases are a leading cause of preventable deaths around the world, and are among five major causes of death in children under the age of five. Such diseases can be successfully treated with oral rehydration solution and antibiotics, but in regions like Turkana, health centers are rare, and those in existence lack basic supplies.

“My nine children are consistently suffering from akirem (diarrhoea),” says Ereng.

Health promotion

Erengs’ is one of many families that have received not only health and hygiene promotion education, but also diarrhoeal treatment from one of the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) mobile rapid response health teams.

In partnership with Kenya’s Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, equipped with basic commodities including re-hydration sachets, chlorine water treatment tablets, de-worming tablets, and medication for eye infections, IOM’s mobile rapid response health teams go to the hard-to-reach migrant and mobile communities in Turkana to distribute much-needed medication and conduct mass de-worming campaigns.

IOM is also running health and hygiene promotion talks, believing that small changes can have a big impact. Keeping in mind sustainability and cultural sensitivities, the health promotion campaign complements local knowledge with indigenous solutions. For example, communities are encouraged to wash their hands with ash, a local disinfectant that is free and easily accessible. 55,000 vulnerable members of the community are being targeted for IOM’s outreach.

Mobile health teams have proven to be more effective than static health facilities owing to the nomadic culture of communities in Turkana.

In 2010 and 2009, IOM dispatched four mobile rapid response health teams on similar missions to crisis-affected communities in Kenya’s Rift Valley, Western, and Nyanza provinces that were struggling to prevent and fight against water-related diseases. Over 492,000 people benefited.

According to Grace Khaguli, Field Coordinator for IOM’s Emergency project in Turkana: “Due to the scale of the drought, water is much harder to come by. This makes people more inclined to drink dirty, unsafe water. The situation is now more critical than ever. The worry is residents use contaminated water, and the area has very few toilets, which contributes to improper waste disposal. Lack of water is the main driver of epidemic water-related diseases.”

Senior Elder Echepan Ngelecha, a community leader in Nadapal Village, northern Turkana, says: “In our culture, we divide illnesses into those caused by God and those caused by Ngidekesiney ka ekapilan (witchcraft). Thanks to IOM, we are now aware that we can do certain things to prevent illnesses. This partnership needs to be continuous because it takes time to change behaviour, like remembering to use ash when we wash our hands in order to prevent spread of diseases.”


END//

Region: Kenya, Horn of Africa
Theme(s): Migration, Health, Drought

The author is a health communications consultant. Follow her on Twitter [@msanyuosire] & keep tabs on tips she shares with health communications officers by "liking" my facebook page [Mary-Sanyu Osire].