Merlin is tackling TB in Turkana, Kenya. Read more...

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Historically Kenya has been a moderately stable area in relation to the turbulence that blights neighbouring countries in the Horn of Africa. However, post-election violence broke out in December 2007, resulting in mass internal displacement. Although the political situation has since stabilised with a coalition government formed in April 2008, the humanitarian situation remains poor in some areas, with some displaced people reluctant to return to their homes.

In the arid north of the country, chronic food insecurity has been compounded by rising food prices and prolonged drought, resulting in high malnutrition levels. Those hardest hit are the pastoralist communities of Turkana and Wajir where up to 30 per cent of children are malnourished.

Although the number of people living with HIV throughout Kenya has decreased in recent years, many regions continue to experience soaring levels of new cases. In some areas of Nyanza province up to 40 per cent of the population is HIV-positive.

Humanitarian Update – Post-election violence

As a result of the crop shortfall and the compounding effects of high commodity prices, post-election violence, scarce water resources, poor livestock health, inadequate pasture and associated conflict over resources, nearly 1.4 million people, including 300,000 affected by the post-election violence, require food assistance in Kenya over the next six months. The most food insecure areas include Turkana District, Rift Valley Province; Marsabit District, Eastern Province; and Mandera District, North Eastern Province. The humanitarian situation is further compounded by recurrent epidemics such as cholera, malaria, Rift Valley fever and Kala Azar.

HOW MERLIN IS HELPING:

Merlin has been working in Kenya since 1998. The team, comprising 10 international and 130 local staff, focus on malaria control and prevention, TB, HIV/AIDs, health and nutrition, drought mitigation and emergency response.

Emergency response
We are helping 40,000 people
Nearly 600,000 people lost their homes as a result of the post-election violence in January 2008, mostly in Western Nyanza and the Rift Valley. Merlin responded immediately by distributing mosquito nets, essential medicines and supplies to those most affected. We continue to provide vital services for those affected, ensuring they have access to basic health care and preventing any further outbreak of disease. Interventions have included counselling and testing for HIV and AIDS as well as training Ministry of Health staff in malnutrition screening.

Health, nutrition and emergency preparedness for vulnerable populations
We helped 340,864 people in 2008
Merlin is working with a network of community health workers and the Ministry of Health to support 827,520 people from the pastoralist populations of Wajir and Turkana districts. Ensuring outreach to the remote areas in this pastoralist region is crucial. With a network of village volunteers, Merlin is operating at sites where nomadic pastoralists can gather to receive primary health care that includes immunisation, antenatal and post natal care, health education as well as prevention and treatment of common diseases. The village volunteers carry out nutritional screening of under-fives and refer malnourished children to health facilities that provide high energy peanut-based paste and medical treatment if necessary. We are also investing in emergency preparedness and response to Kala Azar.

HIV/AIDS
We served over 60,000 people last year
Prevention
Merlin has been working with vulnerable groups in Nyanza province on HIV/AIDS behaviour change projects since 2005. As part of an HIV prevention programme, we have two mobile teams running voluntary counselling clinics in Turkana for pastoralist communities, for whom the rate of HIV-prevalence has risen dramatically in the last few years.

Care and treatment
Merlin works with the Ministry of Health in Nyanza and Turkana provinces to improve care and treatment services for people who are HIV positive. To date, 13,793 people have received HIV-related palliative care, and 1,076 people with anti-retroviral treatment.

TB Control
We are helping 2,000 people
Merlin is working with local village volunteers to build and rehabilitate TB facilities and to improve TB cure rates and quality of care for the local population of Turkana and Nyanza. Many people with TB have also contracted HIV and vice versa, so we are working closely with the Kenyan government to encourage HIV-positive people and TB patients to be tested for both infections. We are also working with the Ministry of Health to strengthen the local health system, train health workers to detect cases of TB, as well as providing subsequent medical support.

Malaria prevention
Last year we helped 54,084 people
Malaria re-appeared in the western highlands of Kenya after decades of elimination. Working in the high-risk Nyanza Province, Merlin is training community health workers to spot the warning signs of the disease. Working closely with local health authorities, Merlin is using three of the most effective methods of reducing and preventing malaria: awareness raising, bed net distribution and spraying people’s homes with insecticide.

Key achievements

• Responding to the Kala Azar outbreak in greater Wajir district, treating 334 people including 64 children
• Treating over 7,000 malnourished children in Northern Kenya in 2008
• We responded immediately to the election violence in December 2007 and continue to support those affected. By September 2008, our mobile teams had treated 25,015 displaced people as well as the surrounding communities, vaccinated 2,023 children and provided health and hygiene education to 13,185 people.

Donors supporting Merlin's work

CHF, DfID, ECHO, Global Fund, Man Group, OFDA

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