Turkana County is situated in the North-Western part of Kenya. At 77,000 sq. km, Turkana County is the second-largest county, covering more than 13% of Kenya’s surface. The county population during the Kenya Population and Housing Census of 2009 stood at 855,399 with an average growth rate of 6.4% per annum. This puts the total county population in 2018 to 1,402,854 assuming constant mortality and fertility rates.
Population size and composition
The County is the second-largest county, covering more than 13% of Kenya’s surface. The county population during the Kenya Population and Housing Census of 2009 stood at 855,399 with an average growth rate of 6.4% per annum. This puts the total county population in 2018 to 1,402,854 assuming constant mortality and fertility rates.
Poverty
The poverty incidences per county ranged from a low of 21.8 percent in Nairobi to a high of 87.5 in Turkana. This implies that two in every 10 people in Nairobi live below the poverty line compared to nine in every 10 people living in Turkana County. Over 109,414 children of primary school age were out of school and a further, 106,368 of secondary school age as of 2017.
Malnutrition
In addition, more than 100,000 children are faced with acute malnutrition annually due to lack of food caused by a severe drought which destroys the livelihoods of the families and the community. Therefore, poverty, social-cultural factors such as child marriages, disability, effects of HIV and AIDS and negative effects of climate change among others affect the participation of girls and boys in education.
Education
Girl Child Network is implementing Kenya Equity in Education Project to provide thousands of children with access to inclusive quality education, clean water, improved sanitation and hygiene as well as knowledge on their rights and responsibilities as a means to protect themselves from those who would exploit them.
The organization works with schools, families, National and County Governments and the communities to create safe spaces for children to learn, be protected and nurtured to thrive, irrespective of their age, gender or disability.
We partner with schools, families and communities to train teachers, school management committees, girls and boys as well as conducting extensive awareness creation work on the importance of education to ensure we leave no child behind as we strive towards achieving the global Sustainable Development Goals of 2030.
In addition, Girl Child Network works with staffs from the local community who understand the root cause of the challenges the children in the county face.