Category: General

Makueni County Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr has directed the Department of Agriculture to set up a rapid response crop protection unit to help farmers manage pests and control crop diseases in an effort to enhance food security.

Mutula said this outside his Wote town office where he received a consignment of assorted agricultural chemicals and equipment from the Ministry of Agriculture.

Among the chemicals received included aflasafe (1 tone), fall warm pesticides, escort 120 litres for 600 acres, pentagon 150 litres to be used on 400 acres, hermitic bags (5,000), Knapsack sprayers (30) and motorised pumps (10) among others.

The governor said that the chemicals and equipment were received from the Crop Protection Unit, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.

Present at the function included Agriculture Executive Committee Member ECM Joyce Mutua and other county government officials.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The rescue team searching for six bodies of a youth group whose boat capsized on Sunday in Lake Baringo has ended the mission after retrieval of six bodies that were still unaccounted for.

The mission that begun on Sunday afternoon, after a motorboat that was ferrying 23 youths from Salabani en-route to Kokwa Island capsized midway.

Sixteen youth were rescued the same evening and a body was also recovered, whereas a search for the six missing persons by a multi-agency team has been going on till yesterday morning when the bodies became buoyant.

The youth aged between nine and 17 years, were going for a church activity on the Island when the tragedy struck.

The six bodies were found early morning yesterday and transferred to Baringo County referral hospital mortuary for preservation, awaiting burial.

Among the bodies recovered were those of the three children of Pastor Jane Kikenyi of Kabukoki Revival Church.

Baringo County Commissioner (CC), Stephen Kutwa, who oversaw the rescue mission, said the govern
ment is going to put-up a raft of measures to minimize instances of such cases from occurring in the future.

‘A Kenya Maritime Officer is on the ground to access the gaps, while coast guards have been asked to tighten their belts in enforcing regulations on matters transport in the lake,’ said Mr. Kutwa.

The administrator also said that the County government has been called upon to fast track the training of coxswains, as there are only two trained and licensed coxswains in lake Baringo with scores of others operating the boats without requisite expertise.

He added that families of victims have been supported with food, as they prepare for burial even as the County government through the Deputy Governor, Eng. Felix Kipng’ok, promised to waive all the expenses at the County Referral Hospital.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Turkana County Executive for Health and Sanitation, Dr Francis Mariao has said the county government and partners are committed to increasing the uptake of vaccines in the county from the current 69 percent to 85 percent in a bid to bridge the gap with the national average which stands at 80%.

He said partners and the Turkana County Government have developed a strategic plan geared towards increasing the uptake of vaccines to a target of 85% for the current year.

Dr Mariao was speaking during the commemoration of the World Immunisation Week in Kanamkemer Sub-County Hospital which began on April 24 and ends on April 30, 2024.

The CECM said, ‘While commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation, the plans to increase the vaccines uptake in Turkana are and not limited to; integrated surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases banking on one health approach (locally known as Kimormor), considering the health of both humans, animals and the environment’.

He added there is a delib
erate effort to improve on the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccine coverage across the County.

However, CECM Mariao noted that despite schools being closed, his team would continue focus on those due for HPV2, targeting youth centres.

He said there is a plan targeting immunisation of children who have defaulted on routine childhood vaccines using the January-March 2024 data, riding on the Community Health Services and any other ongoing outreaches.

This targeted immunisation activities, County Executive said will be done through special clinics (MOPC, CCC, renal, cancer) for at-risk populations such as PCV for cancer and dialysis patients, HPV for 10-14-year-old at Comprehensive Care Clinic, and C-19 for diabetic patients.

While recognising the support of the partners in the event, Dr Mariao called on partners and other stakeholders in the health sector working group to jointly address the existing gaps and fully strengthen the immunisation Programme.

During the commemoration, a total number of 35 doses w
ere administered comprising of; BCG (4), OPV (3), DPT (3), PCV (3), Y/F (6), MRI (6), MRII (8), TD (2) and FIC (5).

In the same breath, the UNICEF’s Health Officer, Lodwar Zonal Office, Stella Kogo said UNICEF has worked closely with the government to improve the cold stain capacity in Turkana County, ensuring the vaccines remain safe and effective from manufacture to administration.

According to Kogo, UNICEF has supported government in vaccine management, including procurement, distribution, and stock management.

She also called on other partners and government agencies stating, ‘Let’s reaffirm our commitment to equitable access to vaccines for all children in Turkana County, regardless of their geographical location or socio-economic background’.

In so doing, the Health Officer said, it is possible to create a world, where no child is left behind and where vaccines are not just a privilege, but a fundamental right.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The service and burial of Kenya Defence Forces officer (KDF) Sergeant Rose Nyawira who perished in a chopper crash alongside Chief of Defence Forces General Francis Omondi Ogolla is currently ongoing at her family home in Kagio Kirinyaga County.

The military, family, relatives, political leaders, and friends gather to pay last respect to the officer.

Nyawira who joined KDF in 2018 as a journalist was a talented photographer attached to the Chief of Defence Forces.

Kenya Defence Forces office ferry remains of Late Sergeant Rose Nyawira to burial service venue. Photo by Mutai Kipngetich.

Kirinyaga County lost two officers at the fatal accident that occurred on Thursday April 18, 2024 at Sindar, Elgeyo Marakwet County. Another officer, Senior Sergeant John Kinyua will be laid to rest on Friday 26, April 2023 at Kirimunge, Kirinyaga Central Sub-County.

Source: Kenya News Agency

World Vision Kenya has launched a Global campaign dubbed’ ENOUGH’ that aims to end child hunger and malnutrition in the Country.

The initiative seeks to address the alarming prevalence of food insecurity, ensuring every child has access to nutritious food for their well-being and development.

In 2023 an estimated 942,000 children aged under-5 and 135,000 pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers were acutely malnourished and in need of treatment in Kenya.

The National Director World Vision Kenya, Gilbert Kamanga said that they will be intensifying their advocacy and collaboration efforts to work with government, partners and communities to develop and implement sustainable solutions.

‘We must prioritise awareness, community resilience, and long-term strategies to address the root cause of hunger. No child in Kenya should die from hunger and malnutrition’, he said, noting that more needs to be done to address the malnutrition challenge in the country.

Kamanga said this will be in line with the Government’s
commitment to enhance the school meals programme initiative by working with multiple stakeholders to find innovative and sustainable funding sources for school meals and expand the coverage from the current 1.9 million children to universal coverage by 2030.

The Campaign, he added, also calls for improved data collection, climate-smart agriculture, and policy reforms even as the Government plans to establish a national policy on school meals by June 2023.

Dr David Githanga, Board Chair of World Vision Kenya said that despite advancements, the statistics remain staggering and that globally up to 783 million people faced hunger in 2022, with Kenya bearing its share of the burden. Our vision is a world where every child enjoys enough nourishing food,’ he added

He explained that last year, World Vision Kenya invested over Sh 13 billion with more than half dedicated to projects directly contributing to food and nutrition security, benefiting 1.9 million children and 1.5 million adults.

Through integrated healt
h programmes, the organisation operated in 21 counties, focusing on child protection, and disease prevention.

Additionally, humanitarian efforts provided vital assistance to 1.3 million individuals affected by emergencies, with over 780,000 children receiving life-saving aid.

Lilian Dodzo, Regional Leader, World Vision East Africa Region said, ‘children in Kenya and across Africa are counting on us to join together as we call for ENOUGH nutritious food for every child, sourced ethically and sustainably, enabling them to flourish always and everywhere’.

First Lady Rachel Ruto who was the chief guest during the launch lauded World Vision for the initiative, noting that advocating for enough nutritious food for every child, both at home and in school, through ethical and sustainable sourcing is commendable.

‘There’s no greater indignity than children attending school hungry. We’ve made significant strides, reducing stunting from 26 percent in 2014 to 18 percent in 2022. Overall, nutrition has improved. Yet,
847,000 Kenyan children under five face acute malnutrition, down 14.5 percent from 2023,’ she said.

Mrs Ruto noted that all must unite to scale interventions in food security, health, nutrition, and finance to reach the goal of less than 5 percent childhood wasting by 2025.

The Campaign will be running for the next three years and will aim to improve nutritional status of vulnerable children in the country through targeted interventions of reducing hunger in the most affected communities.

Conflict, climate shocks, rising cost of living, and declining food production have all contributed to food scarcity and high food prices.

According to the 2023 Global Hunger Index (GHI), Kenya ranks 90th out of the 125 countries with sufficient data to calculate 2023 GHI scores. With a score of 22.0, Kenya has a level of hunger that is serious.

Kenya is the second country, after Ethiopia, to launch its national ENOUGH Campaign.

On September 20, 2023 WVI launched its global ENOUGH campaign at a side event during the UN
General Assembly in New York, USA where World Vision committed and announced a global commitment of USD3.4 billion as part of its new global campaign,

The campaign is to focus on reducing hunger and improving nutrition for 125 million children across 67 countries where they are suffering most, 27 of those countries are in Africa, and 9 are in the African region, including parts of Kenya.

Source: Kenya News Agency