Emergency Aid Launched in Turkana as Severe Drought Leaves Half of Children Malnourished
Lodwar, 12 August 2026
In August 2026, Save the Children launched a six-month emergency programme in Turkana, Kenya, targeting 95,000 vulnerable people as drought-induced malnutrition rates at some sites reached 50 per cent.
Addressing the Malnutrition Crisis in Turkana
The newly rolled-out Emergency Integrated Nutrition and WASH Response was launched on 3 August 2026 to address a severe humanitarian crisis in Turkana County [1]. Spanning an area of 77,000 square kilometres, Turkana is the second-largest county in Kenya, making the physical delivery of healthcare exceptionally challenging [1]. The urgency of this six-month programme is underscored by mass nutrition screenings conducted in April 2026, which revealed Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates far exceeding the World Health Organization’s emergency threshold of 15 per cent [1]. In some areas, malnutrition rates reached as high as 50 per cent, meaning one in every two children was suffering from acute malnutrition [1].
How to Access the Emergency Services
To help families who cannot travel long distances, the programme delivers healthcare directly to local communities through mobile outreach clinics [1]. These clinics are visiting 184 specific outreach sites across remote, ‘last-mile’ locations in Turkana County, including Komio (Urum), Puch (Namoruputh), Lokoropus (Lobei/Kotaruk), and Nakatiyan (Loima) [1]. Pastoralist families from surrounding areas—such as Kaapel, Kalokula, Naurenudung, Lobur Angkaala, Sogoo, Kanaroo, Nangoleki, and Aminit—can access these mobile units directly in their neighbourhoods [1]. This setup eliminates the need for vulnerable parents to undertake exhausting journeys, which can otherwise involve walking for three to four hours to reach distant facilities like the Lorgum Mission Hospital or the Kalemnyang Health Centre [1].
Eligibility Criteria and Program Deadlines
The emergency services are strictly targeted at the most vulnerable segments of the population [1]. To qualify for the nutrition and medical treatments, individuals must be children under the age of five, or pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls [1]. The wider community can also benefit from the distribution of 10,265 Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Non-Food Items (NFIs) aimed at improving household hygiene and preventing disease [1]. In terms of timelines, the programme aims to deliver eight outreach sessions at each of the 184 sites, with this scheduled round of healthcare sessions running until 9 October 2026 [1].