Background
Turkana County is situated in North West region of Kenya with a population of almost 900,000.[1] It is hot and dry, and water is generally scarce due to erratic rainfall patterns. Nomadic herders who frequently suffer the adverse affects of drought and famine inhabit Turkana. With 94%[2] of the population living below the poverty line, Turkana is one of Kenya’s poorest regions. It continues to have negative development indicators including poor infrastructure and poor social services, partly due to marginalization from the development process by successive political regimes.
The Turkana Community Engagement in Democratic Reforms is meant to create awareness within the County so that they can demand better services from public institutions and be able to participate in their governance. Other than that the project aims to advocate and build capacities of women leaders so that they participate in all socio-economic spheres of life in Turkana County.
[1] 2009 Kenya Census
[2] Ministry of Planning report, Kenya, 2008.
Expected Results
- Turkana County government with increased capacity for effective service delivery and efficient implementation of both local and national legislations and policies
- Citizens have increased awareness of their duties and those of the county government and they are involved in the decision making processes and monitoring of the county governments.
- Increased representation and participation of Turkana women especially at the county government level.
DURATION: The exercise was done in march 2013