CGP-GHS-HOA Bi-Weekly Bulletin FY23 Q1 (Week 25)

In an effort to improve access to animal, human and environmental health across Kenya and South Sudan border, CGPP together with National/County/State Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, WHO, UNHCR and other health partners met to discuss on the component of surveillance, areas of integration and craft a joint workplan on the ‘One Health (OH) Approach’ in a two-day (7-8 March 2023) conference in Kakuma, Turkana county. The conference brought together animal and human health specialists to brainstorm and deliberate on ways to allow border communities, who are mostly nomadic pastoralists and marginalized in both South Sudan and Kenya, access equitable and quality health care services.
Speaking while opening the conference in Kakuma, Chief Officer for Preventive and Promotive Health, Peter Lomorukai said that working jointly with one health stakeholders is an important aspect in the implementation of the One Health. Seasonally, pastoralists from both Kenya and South Sudan move across the border in search of pasture/water for their livestock. Additionally, Kenya continue to receive sizeable population across the border as asylum searchers. All these
predispose the region to cross-border disease transmission
Key deliberation for the meeting were to create a OH cross-border coordination committee at the County and State level as well as Kapoeta East County and Turkana West sub-county to share information on the current surveillance situation of vaccine preventable disease, priority zoonotic diseases and other disease of public health emergency.
Eastern Equatoria State (EES) Minister of Health Pascal Lodae Woyakori, who led the south Sudanese OH team said that although three out 10 states are currently facing an outbreak of measles, his South Sudanese MoH and partners are containing the situation to prevent a spill over to neighboring states and countries.
The conference was also attended by representatives of partner NGOs such as Imarisha Jamii Concern Worldwide, UNHCR, WHO, VSF-Germany among others.
The meeting was organized by CGPP and partners including Turkana county government, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and Ministry of Health.