Turkana: Turkana County Government, in collaboration with The Fred Hollows Foundation (FHF), held a two-day Trachoma Microplanning targeting both County and Sub-County Health Management Teams. Participants included Medical Officers of Health (MOHs), eye care coordinators, pharmacists, focal persons, and public health officers from Turkana North, Kibish, and Suguta sub-counties.
According to Kenya News Agency, the targeted sub-counties were selected due to the high prevalence of Trachoma Trachiasis (TT) and Trachomatous Inflammation-Follicular (TF), as per the findings of the Surveillance Survey and Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness conducted in Turkana North and Kibish between 2024 and 2025. The meeting precedes a Targeted Drug Administration to children (TDA) campaign scheduled to begin on May 25, 2026, in the hotspot villages within Turkana North and Kibish sub-counties, with a 100 percent coverage target. A full geographical coverage exercise for TT in Suguta sub-county is expected to follow thereafter.
The TDA campaign will target children between zero months and nine years, as well as expectant mothers. The drugs to be administered include Azithromycin tablets for children aged eight to nine years, Azithromycin syrup for children aged six months to seven years, and 1% Tetracycline Eye Ointment (TEO) for infants between zero and six months and pregnant women. The exercise will focus on Kokuro and Lokitaung locations in Turkana North and Lapur Ward in Kibish.
National and county administration officers, healthcare workers, chiefs, village administrators, Community Health Assistants (CHAs), and Community Health Promoters (CHPs) will all participate in the campaign. Additionally, following the completion of the two-day training and microplanning sessions, selected County Health Management Team (CHMT) members and sub-county eye care teams including MOHs from Turkana North, East, South, Central, West, Kibish, and Aroo sub-counties were further capacity-built on financial management to strengthen service delivery and accountability.
The intervention will also include mapping and mobilisation of the most affected villages, enhanced support supervision, training of CHAs and CHPs, data collection, security coordination, review meetings, and mop-up plans for villages that may not attain full coverage within the three-day campaign period. Speaking during the forum, the Chief Officer for Preventive and Promotive Health Services, Agnes Mana, emphasised the importance of sustained partnerships in supporting healthcare delivery across the county.
She highlighted that eliminating trachoma requires more than treatment alone as it demands strong coordination, timely interventions, community ownership, and a health system that reaches even the most remote populations. ‘Support from partners such as FHF remains critical to the well-being of our communities, especially at a time when many programmes have been affected by reduced funding. We must continue working together to ensure essential services reach our people, particularly those in remote and underserved areas,’ she said.
The Director for Preventive and Promotive Health Services, Daniel Esimit, assured healthcare workers and partners of the county’s commitment to addressing operational challenges and improving coordination. ‘Through this microplanning process, we are strengthening our preparedness, improving accountability, and ensuring that no vulnerable child or household is left behind in the fight against preventable blindness,’ he said recognising the partner support while calling for strengthened turnaround times, ‘the continuous improvement in turnaround times will strengthen staff morale as we work together towards eliminating preventable blindness in Turkana.’
County Eye Care Coordinator Samson Lokele facilitated the meeting and highlighted the continued partnership with The Fred Hollows Foundation, noting its impact in strengthening eye health services in the county.
