A team of health officers undergoing training on Ebola in Turkana county
The Turkana county government has stepped up measures, including intensified border surveillance, as it heightens surveillance over the spread of Ebola.
The county, in collaboration with Amref Health Africa’s Imarisha Jamii and the International Rescue Committee’s Core Group Partners Project (CGPP), is training health officers in Lodwar and Kakuma to help in the surveillance.
The training brought together county and sub-county health management teams from all 12 sub-counties. Participants included medical officers, health promotion officers, community health strategy focal persons, health records and information officers, public health officers and public health nurses.
Kenya recorded its first Ebola death on Tuesday amid rising concerns over the country’s preparedness to prevent further spread.
Preparedness activities in Turkana have been extended to October 31, 2026, from the previously planned September 30 deadline, with a possibility of further extension.
Turkana remains on alert because of its risk profile. It is among 12 counties classified as being at very high risk of Ebola and shares international borders with Uganda, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Nicholas Kurgat, a risk communication and community engagement expert at the Kenya National Public Health Institute (KNPHI), said Kenya remained vulnerable to imported cases because of its proximity to the Democratic Republic of Congo and continued travel and trade.
“Despite setting up designated screening centres at the various points of entry in Turkana, the porous nature of our border still exposes Turkana to imported cases,” he said.
Chief Officer for Preventive and Promotive Health Services Agnes Mana urged health teams to be proactive advocates of change and promote healthy behaviours at community level.
“We are the agents of change and we need to actively share valuable information through first building the capacities of our community health promoters (CHPs). Our primary role is to make sure that the facility is not only prepared but also protected by ensuring we limit the possibilities of contamination through adopting preventive measures,” she said.
Mana urged teams to strengthen supervision and ensure facility staff follow required procedures at all times.
Rotich Kipkorir, Deputy Director for Strategic Health Programmes and County EVD Focal Person, said the training covered procedures for handling the disease.
He said national-level trainers have been sensitised and tasked with cascading the information across the county.
Turkana also conducted a virtual session for 303 health workers across all sub-counties covering EVD preparedness pillars, before mapping risks to identify priority sub-counties.
Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai has tasked the health department with ensuring all staff are adequately prepared to handle Ebola.
