Turkana CDRs Conclude Training on Syndromic Surveillance and Livestock Disease Reporting

Turkana County Community Disease Reporters (CDRs) concluded their two-day refresher training on syndromic surveillance and livestock disease reporting at the Riamakori Hotel in Lokichar on Wednesday May 18, 2022.

The training, which kicked of on Tuesday May 17, 2022, was led by PlantVillage officers Dr. Catherine Karungo and One Health Scouts coordinator, Melodine Jeptoo. It brought together 35 CDRs from six sub-counties of Turkana County who received a refresher training on livestock disease symptoms, zoonotic diseases and how to use the PlantVillage Nuru app to survey and report livestock diseases.

Turkana CDRs in a training course session on livestock diseases and their symptoms [Photo-PlantVillage]

The activity was overseen by senior veterinary officers from the Turkana County livestock department, led by the County Director of Veterinary Services, Dr. Benson Etelej Long'or, who termed the pastoralist program by PlantVillage a sure win.

"CDRs are a perfect link between vet officers and pastoralists. We believe as the Turkana County Government, that technology can move mountains... Whatever PlantVillage is doing will be a testimony by pastoralists at the grassroot level," he said while opening the training officially on Tuesday.

The CDRs, who received t-shirts and were awarded certificates of participation, acknowledged that they learned a lot that is going to help them assist people in their community.

A section of the CDRs in a ptractical field training session with Melodine Jeptoo on how to use the AnimalVillage feature in the Nuru app [Photo-PlantVillage]

"The training has been very comprehensive and in-depth. This is going to be of impact to pastoralists who look up to us for help when their animals fall sick," said Esther Silale, one of the trainees.

The CDRs will now embark on a full-fledged service to pastoralists from all over Turkana County to help them get a solution to the prolonged problem of livestock diseases. Their tasks include finding individual pastoralists, assessing health problems in their animals, scanning the animals for diseases using the Nuru app, and reporting the disease to the county veterinary officers.

- Written by Sam Oduor