The historic 2021-2023 Horn of Africa drought affected more than 5 million people in Kenya. With five consecutive failed rainy seasons, more than 400,000 people in the ASAL regions were forced to move from their homes in search of lifesaving assistance (IOM). During this period, the region also faced a cholera outbreak that compounded the humanitarian crisis. The outbreak was exacerbated by the scarcity of clean water, insufficient health structures, and inadequate sanitation infrastructure, amplifying the vulnerability of communities already struggling with the devastating impacts of the prolonged drought. The Elnino-induced flooding also exacerbated the cholera outbreak and posed a significant threat to public health, further straining the already stretched healthcare systems in the affected areas. With limited access to resources and treatment facilities, the outbreak added an additional layer of complexity to the ongoing humanitarian response.
In Mandera county, Nomadic Assistance For Peace and Development (NAPAD), in partnership with the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and with support from Germany Humanitarian Assistance(GFFO), took proactive measures to address the crisis through a multisectoral lifesaving project aimed at ensuring the continued delivery of basic services and strengthening the protective environment of displacement affected communities in Mandera County affected by drought and floods.
Community Health Promoters on the Frontline of Hygiene Promotion and Sanitation Awareness
Abdi Salo leads his team in the hygiene promotion campaigns in Koromey.
Community health volunteers played a pivotal role in implementing comprehensive door-to-door campaigns focused on promoting hygiene and sanitation. These efforts successfully reached 43,361 people, delivering crucial messages about water, sanitation, and hygiene. The volunteers also educated community members on crafting a tippy tap using locally available materials to enhance handwashing practices with soap. To reinforce these messages, they utilized visually impactful posters and brochures containing illustrations and simple phrases in the local language, effectively simplifying the understanding of hygiene and sanitation especially on AWDs/cholera prevention and response. Local radio talk shows hosted on Radio Dawa featuring public health experts from the county ministry of health further provided expert guidelines and knowledge on hygiene best practices reaching approximately 350,000 people. The use of local radio also proved to be a valuable medium of passing important information on increasing awareness and interest in improved hygiene to community members in rural areas who have low access to resources and information and are typically far from health centers that support family health.
“We visit homesteads, sharing hygiene messages, and the posters really help us to maintain engagement with the people during the campaigns,” reported Issak Abdi Salo, the leader of the community health volunteers. “We champion for behavior change towards good hygiene and how to prevent and address water-borne diseases like AWDS/ cholera and how to prevent disease-carrying mosquitoes from breeding or spreading illness through using mosquito nets.” He emphasized.
To complement these efforts, NAPAD distributed Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Non-Food Items (WASH NFIs) to 500 households in Shafshafey, Koromey, Barwaqo, and Neboi, including jerrycans and buckets with lids, multi-purpose bar soaps, treated mosquito nets, and Aqua tabs for water treatment.
Mama Halima Adan receiving WASH Non-Food Items from a dedicated NAPAD Team Member
Mama Halima Adan Mohamed, a 50-year-old mother living in Barwaqo location, is among the 500 households that have received the WASH NFIs. She was displaced from her home due to the devastating flooding that struck Mandera. According to the UNOCHA, the Elnino-induced flooding impacted 34,845 households and over 9,400 river-rine farmers and resulted in the loss of 2,621 livestock, destroying people’s livelihoods who are already struggling to recover from the impact of the drought.
Building a stronger healthcare system in Mandera East Subcounty
Building on this multisectoral lifesaving project, NAPAD, together with DRC and GFFO, improved the water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure in Koromey and Neboi Health care centers and in Shafshafey and Khadija Dispensaries.
Key initiatives included the construction of latrines and fully equipped handwashing stations, the rehabilitation of wastewater drainage system, water storage tanks, water distribution systems, and solar systems, along with and the installation of booster pumps to improve water supply system in the health centers and dispensaries. Notably, in Koromey healthcare dispensary, the rehabilitation of the solar system resulted in the dispensary gaining electricity enabling the refrigeration of vaccines. Consequently, routine immunization has resumed, benefiting 189 children like Yasmin Adan Issack, a three-month-old who now receives life-saving vaccinations at the facility.
Qureisha Ali Ibrahim holds Yasmin as a healthcare worker administers a vaccination.
To improve access to clean water in the four health care centres, NAPAD provided emergency water through water trucking. This ensured a continuous supply of clean water in each facility, supporting essential healthcare services, and upholding hygiene standards. Consequently, this also safeguards the health and well-being of both patients and staff, while also mitigating the potential risks of disease outbreaks within these health facilities.
These comprehensive measures have already demonstrated success, contributing to a reduction in Acute Watery Diseases (AWD)/ cholera cases. NAPAD’s commitment to community well-being, coupled with strategic partnerships, is building the resilience of rural communities in Mandera county.