UNICEF, Save the Children hail Turkana’s progress in tackling malnutrition

Turkana County's efforts to curb childhood illness and malnutrition have received a major boost after UNICEF, Save the Children, and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) lauded progress made in two ongoing research studies aimed at strengthening community health systems.

During a courtesy call to the Chief Officer for Preventive and Promotive Health, Agnes Mana, the delegation reviewed the implementation of the UNICEF-funded R-SWITCH research project by IRC and the Operational Research Pilot integrating treatment of acute malnutrition within Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM), led by Save the Children and KEMRI.

The iCCM-CMAM study, an 18-month initiative running from November 2024 to April 2026, seeks to demonstrate how integrated community health models can improve early treatment and reduce under-five mortality in ASAL regions.

Meanwhile, the R-SWITCH project is deploying digital innovations, including digitised Mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) screening, baby-mother scales and a two-way messaging platform to enhance early detection of malnutrition at the household level.

Chief Officer Mana said Turkana has made "significant gains" in reducing Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates despite persistent food insecurity and dwindling humanitarian funding. "These studies are already yielding important lessons," she noted.

Director for Nutrition and Dietetics, Nana Saada, added that digitised family-led MUAC is strengthening the ability of Community Health Promoters (CHP) to offer personalised and collaborative care. She said R-SWITCH is enhancing screening and referral systems while improving CHP capacity across targeted sub-counties.

UNICEF Nutrition Specialist and team lead, Francis Kindake, provided oversight updates on the two studies, which earlier this year concluded the main research phase in partnership with Kenyatta University and county health teams.

Recent sensitisation training for Trainers of Trainers (ToTs), sub-county health teams and CHPs has also been completed across Loima, Lokiriama, Turkana Central and Kibish.

Director of Medical Services, Dr Ekiru Kidalio, reminded partners of the urgency of the ongoing nutrition crisis.

"Turkana has the highest poverty index, with 82 per cent of residents living below the poverty line. With nearly half of our population being children, it is our duty to protect their health," he said.

Following the meeting, teams from UNICEF, Save the Children, and the Turkana Christian Development Mission (TCDM) visited Kodopa Dispensary and Kanamkemer Sub-County Hospital to assess progress in CMAM-IMAM implementation.

At Kodopa, Nurse-in-Charge Nancy Ngirotin reported improved early detection and stronger referral linkages due to the enhanced iCCM-CMAM approach.

CHP Peter Egule said confidence in managing childhood illnesses at the household level has grown, leading to more timely treatment. CHP John Kolang described the recovery of severely malnourished children as "deeply motivating," citing the case of Reuben, a child who fully recovered within five visits after being enrolled with severe malnutrition in October 2025.

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• Save the Children hail Turkana’s progress in tackling malnutrition

Chief Officer Mana applauded development partners for their continued collaboration, saying the research and training efforts mark "significant progress in improving child survival outcomes."

"We are committed to adopting and sustaining the lessons generated through these pilots. We will also safeguard the commodities we receive through these programs to sustain impact," she affirmed.

Also present were Director of Administration Rebecca Alimlim; UNICEF officers Benson Musau and Judith Raburu; Nutrition Specialist Francis Wambua; Save the Children's Program Manager Shariff Abdalla, among others.