The Turkana County Government, in partnership with the Fred Hollows Foundation, has concluded an inception meeting for a four-year regional eye health project aimed at reducing avoidable blindness and vision impairment in Kenya.
The North Rift Regional Eye Health Project, which began in July 2026, will be implemented in Turkana, West Pokot, Baringo, Marsabit and Mandera counties with funding from the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
In Turkana, the project will target Turkana South, including Aroo; Turkana East, including Suguta; and Turkana West, including Lokichoggio, as well as refugee communities.
The programme will be implemented in partnership with Turkana Christian Development Mission (TCDM) and PanAfricare Organization.
Project Targets Underserved Communities
The initiative seeks to increase access to eye health services among underserved, vulnerable and marginalised populations, while addressing gaps affecting the delivery of quality eye care.
Key areas of focus will include health service delivery, human resources, infrastructure and equipment, availability of medical consumables, eye health data collection and reporting, as well as leadership and governance.
The inception meeting brought together county eye care teams, sub-county medical officers of health and development partners, who developed the 2026/2027 work plan for the first year of implementation.
Screening and Surgical Camps Planned
Among the activities planned for the first year are sensitisation of health workers and Members of the County Assembly on primary eye care, eye health screening and surgical camps.
The programme will also conduct community awareness activities through dialogues, health talks and stakeholder engagements.
Officials will further advocate for the inclusion of dedicated eye health funding in the County Annual Work Plan to help sustain services beyond the project period.
The participating CSOs will support community mobilisation and awareness, identification and referral of people with eye conditions, health system strengthening, advocacy, social accountability, monitoring and learning.
Push for More Eye Health Funding
Deputy Director for Strategic Preventive Health Programmes Rotich Kipkorir emphasised the importance of strong policy and legislative frameworks to support eye health services.
He also called for adequate allocation of resources to eye care within the county budget to ensure that interventions reach communities in need.
Kathreen Ereng, Deputy Director of Legislative Services at the County Assembly, similarly urged eye health stakeholders to take a more proactive approach in lobbying for budgetary allocations.
She said sustained county investment would be critical to ensuring that eye care programmes continue after the four-year project ends.
Fred Hollows Foundation Backs System Strengthening
Representing the Fred Hollows Foundation, Technical Advisor for Monitoring and Evaluation Kennedy Alwenya reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to working with the Ministry of Health to strengthen eye care systems across Kenya, including Turkana.
Alwenya identified digitisation as one of the areas the Foundation is exploring to improve eye health service delivery and reporting.
Deputy Director of Public Health Ekaran Ismael welcomed continued support from development partners, saying collaboration would be essential in strengthening eye care services across the county.
He stressed that eye health interventions should remain government-led while being driven by the needs and participation of local communities.
“Partners supplement the government. MOH being 100% devolved means we have to work as a team with the partners, stakeholders and the communities we serve,” Ismael said.
Project to Improve Early Detection and Referral
The project is expected to strengthen access to quality eye care, improve early identification and referral of eye conditions and increase community participation in eye health services.
For Turkana, the programme will particularly focus on communities that face geographical and other barriers to accessing specialised healthcare.
The county government and its partners are expected to use the four-year programme to strengthen existing eye health systems while laying the groundwork for sustainable services beyond the project period.
The meeting was attended by County Planning Deputy Director Julius Ekal, County Eyecare Coordinator Samson Lokele and his deputy Veronica Etee, Fred Hollows Foundation Technical Advisor for Advocacy and Policy Edwin Mbaya, as well as Collince Ogada, Rose Gichengo, Moses Wang’anga, Abraham Ewet and Dickson Okello from the Foundation.
Representatives from TCDM and PanAfricare also attended the meeting.
