Residents of Loima subcounty in Turkana will receive 102,880 mosquito nets from the county government for prevention of malaria.
The health department has embarked on a one-month campaign to distribute the long-lasting insecticide treated nets to all residents of Loima where malaria is endemic.
The campaign, jointly implemented with the National Malaria Control Programme, is part of the sustained initiative to fight malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases in the country.
Turkana health chief officer Augustine Lokwang' said that the nets were already in Loima subcounty pending household registration, sensitisation and eventual distribution to the locals.
Lokwang' clarified that the distribution process will be based on numbers, with one net apportioned to two people per household.
“Owing to the current Covid-19 containment measures that restrict gatherings and exercises of such massive magnitude, we have received express authorisation from the national Ministry of Health to undertake the exercise since malaria control is an essential lifesaving service," Lokwang' said.
Daniel Esimit, deputy director for disease prevention, condemned use of LLINs for purposes other than mosquito control.
He noted that they had received witness reports of nets recipients using them for fishing, fencing and erecting perimeter walls instead of the intended use.
Esimit said public health officers and other field staff will continue sensitising communities on the importance of using mosquito nets as intended.
“This will not be the first time that Loima will be benefitting from the exercise since the inaugural mass distribution of LLINs under the watch of the county government was successfully undertaken in 2015-2016 following the three years life cycle of nets distribution provided for by the NMCP,” he said.
Head of County Malaria Control Programme Samuel Lokemer said that malaria still accounted for more than 50 per cent of hospital admissions, hence the need for such initiatives.
Lokemer revealed that advocacy, communication and social mobilisation campaigns will be intensified in Loima and the entire county to ensure that the target population gets the correct information as stakeholders are included in the entire process.
Edited by Henry Makori
