A section of Baringo County has been singled out by the National Council for Population and Development (NCPD) for high illiteracy levels which is a hindrance to information access.
According to the NCPD Assistant Director in charge of public education Michael Oruru, about 25.8 percent of the population above three years in the region have never been to school.
Oruru noted that, as per the Kenya Demographic survey of 2019, Tiaty East and West sub-counties are the most affected recording over 75 percent illiteracy levels which makes it difficult for their organization to reach out and support them.
The NCPD assistant director made the remarks during a one-day media training on population and development at Kenya School of Government (KSG), Baringo Campus, on Monday, which was attended by journalists and editors from various media houses in the region.
He decried that a big population is not informed on important aspects of life such as family planning and reproductive health.
Oruru stated that they have now resorted to engagement with different stakeholders especially the media to try and find out strategies that can best be utilized to convey information messages effectively.
“We are specifically targeting journalists because we think that they can give out accurate reporting on population and development programmes in order to enlighten the masses,” he said.
Oruru whose organization shall further engage journalists countrywide said that from their engagement with media practitioners he is optimistic that they are going to increase public awareness through the various media platforms.
On a health status survey, the NCPD official noted that the vast county performed dismally after recording 43 percent latrine coverage and 70 percent open defecation rate compared with the national estimates of 51 percent and 14 percent respectively.