This archive report was first published on 24 August 2019.
At least four people have lost their lives in a malaria outbreak that has affected Baringo County, with over 100 others hospitalized.
The deceased include two children and two adults from Kongor, a village in the region.
Baringo Health CEC Mary Panga assured residents that the situation is under control, with her teams on the ground to screen and treat residents.
"My teams are on the ground, screening and treating the residents and will monitor to reduce risk of more of them developing the same symptoms," she said.
According to Tirioko ward MCA Sam Lokales, thousands of people have been affected by the outbreak, with areas such as Kulol, Kaghat, Kongor, Chesawach, Akoret, Kapau, Atirir, Chesotim, Lokis, Ng'aina, Korelach, and Krese being the most affected.
Residents in these areas have complained of vomiting, headache, and fever, with some even laying down in their homesteads unable to access medication due to weak body joints and medical facilities too far away.
"In Akoret division there is no single dispensary. Kapau, Chesawach, Kongor areas depend on herbalists and also extortion of evil spirits and it is like we have been forgotten by the county government," Lokales said.
However, the county health CEC disputed this claim, stating that there are enough drugs from the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) at the Kapau dispensary.
"All Tiaty residents and Baringo residents at large should know that malaria is a controllable disease and they should sleep under mosquito nets," Panga said.
Two years ago, over 20 people died from malaria in the same region, with reports indicating that most residents do not have mosquito nets and are exposed to harsh climatic conditions.
