Turkana County Pilots Positive Deviance Programme to Curb Malnutrition
Turkana, Kenya – June 26, 2025
Turkana County’s Department of Health and Sanitation, in collaboration with SAPCONE, has launched a pilot Positive Deviance (PD) programme aimed at empowering communities in Aroo Sub-County to tackle persistent malnutrition using locally available foods and resources.
The initiative has so far supported 968 children, among them 457 under-five children enrolled during the initial assessment phase, and an additional 511 beneficiaries added by May 2025.
The programme is being implemented in health facilities reporting high cases of underweight children, including Lopur, Korinyang, Lokapel, Kalemung’orok and Kaputir.
How the PD Hearth Model Works
The Positive Deviance Hearth approach involves a 12-day training where caregivers learn to prepare nutritious meals for children using produce grown in community and household kitchen gardens. After the training, health workers conduct follow-ups to assess improvements in the children’s body mass index (BMI).
The approach is unique because it equips communities to use readily available nutrition-rich foods such as groundnuts, eggs and kale to combat malnutrition, said Chief Officer for Preventive and Promotive Health Janerose Tioko.
Call for Stronger Stakeholder Collaboration
Tioko urged local communities, NGOs and government agencies to work closely to expand and sustain the programme. She emphasised that long-term success will depend on increased investment, community participation and strengthened nutrition practices.
She assured partners that the county government remains committed to supporting the programme to enhance nutrition outcomes for vulnerable families across Turkana.
Programme Gains Ground Through Local Capacity Building
Director of Community Health Services Dr Joseph Lolepo expressed commitment to scaling up the PD Hearth approach, describing it as an effective community-driven model for improving child health.
SAPCONE Nutrition Coordinator Nickson Omuse reported that the programme has so far trained 24 healthcare workers from 16 facilities and 100 Community Health Promoters (CHPs) who are cascading nutrition knowledge to households.
Dr Lolepo also lauded SAPCONE’s community mobilisation efforts and acknowledged the World Food Programme’s technical and logistical support, which he said had significantly contributed to the programme’s early success.
The launch was attended by SAPCONE staff, Community Health Assistants, Community Health Promoters, and community leaders who pledged to support the initiative.