By Florence Dzame

In far flung communities in Turkana County, Northern Kenya Save the Children and officials from the Ministry of Health are moving from door to educating members of the community on COVID-19. They are conducting sensitizations in communities that are far from health facilities. In the county it is an average distance of at least 30 KMS to the nearest health facility.  COVID – 19 is global pandemic that will have far-reaching impacts on children, not only on health outcomes, but also on education, protection, nutrition, food supplies, and livelihood. The pandemic can be further aggravated by pre-existing issues in the county such as limited access to health and nutrition service, poor childcare practices, high illiteracy and poverty.

Benjamin Eleyo, 27, a community mobilizer with Save the Children said that they are able to cover 40 houses in a day.

“We give nutrition commodities and soap as we move from house to house,” said Eleyo.

Another approach that Save the Children is using to create awareness about this pandemic is to conduct education sessions during the integrated health outreaches. The outreaches are held bi-weekly.

“We teach community members about how the virus is transmitted, proper-handwashing and social distancing,” said Eleyo.

So far there have been no cases reported in Turkana county. Kenya has recorded the highest jump in coronavirus cases so far, with 22 people testing positive Wednesday. This brings the national total to 81.