14th October, 2009
In the midst of glaring heat and fast winds the AMREF AIC Naanam dispensary stands with its doors open to the Nanaam community of Turkana North District. Comprised of a basic examination room, pharmacy and a poorly equipped delivery room, the Nanaam dispensary is the only one within a radius of 50 kilometres. You can hear chattering sounds of children as their mothers queue on the verandah to have them weighed. The babies peer at us from the safety of their mother’s arms.
The facility has only one nurse who is assisted by a patient attendant and is the first referral point for a population of 3000 people, when the migration has taken place and 7000 people when they come back from the search for pastures. Due to the chronic lack of water, diarrhoea and malnutrition related ailments are common. The drugs at the dispensary are stocked by AMREF and availed to the people at a nominal fee.
The nurse and her team of community health workers have an admirable dedication to their work despite the harsh working environment. Without any means of transportation, they walk inconceivable distances under the scorching sun and often at the mercy of wild animals. Lydia the nurse who is on call 24-7 narrates how she bitten by a snake while walking to the dispensary from the nearby adakar homestead at night. And when the days have been too long Lydia is forced to spend the night at the dispensary.
In this part of the world there hasn’t been proper rainfall for 4 straight years as a result of severe environmental degradation and climate change. The effects have been catastrophic for the people and a great impediment to health delivery. As the people relentlessly search for water, survival is paramount and any water they come across they and their livestock consume, however unclean it might be hence perpetuate a cycle of water borne and malnutrition related diseases. Livestock which is their only socio-economic mainstay have succumbed by the thousands and the sight of animal carcasses strewn along the dry river beds is testament to this. It is a life and death catch twenty two situation according to Jared Oule the Project Manager for the Turkana Integrated Health Project. He reiterates that the Turkana must “embrace education for there to be any meaningful change in their lives”.
The community relies heavily on food rations from the government consisting of a maize, beans and oil ranging from 2 – 10 kilogrammes (a month) depending on the size of the family. However these supplies are insufficient and far between so in the interim the Turkana survive on wild berries which they have to be boiled for 24 hours before they are palatable.
The harsh drought has driven the Turkana to encroach on the neighbouring Toposa community in the Sudan in search of pastures for their animals resulting in an extremely volatile state of security. “Last night there were cattle raids and three of our men were killed by the Toposa” says mzee Peter Longao. “The Toposa are armed and they will finish us. Why doesn’t the government give us bullets to fight back” laments another village elder. The sight of young men carrying guns is commonplace.
Education remains a mirage for the Turkana due to retrogressive cultural norms such as early marriages and the longstanding insecurity amongst other things. In Naanam for instance there is only one school with an attendance of 20% among school aged children, a situation which is mirrored right across the district.
For the Turkana water is the lifeline and unless it is addressed there is no end in sight to the other critical issue such as drought, insecurity and high illiteracy that the community’s face.
The fate of these people hangs in the balance. On the one hand the government cannot assume a laissez faire position while the Turkana continue to suffer. On the other hand there needs to be a paradigm shift in the way the Turkana lead their lives. But are the Turkana ready for change? Are they ready to adopt a sedentary lifestyle albeit gradually to facilitate farming activities? “Our hope is in the government. If they help us with water, then we will irrigate the land.” And will the government commit to focussing on and de- marginalizing the Turkana? Are they willing to shift some resources there? This remains to be seen.
In the meantime the Turkana seem to be accosted on all fronts, a people forgotten by time. The Turkana situation is desolate and massive; AMREF and a few others are trying but cannot do it alone. There is great need for development partners to join in AMREF and others to support the Government in making Turkana people join the clock of time… health, food security and basic needs.
