Vihiga Governor Dr. Wilber Ottichilo has told the newly appointed County Public Service Board members to put their best foot forward and deliver to the people of Vihiga.

Speaking during the swearing in ceremony of the board members at the County headquarters Ottichilo said he was happy the board is finally in place.

"I thank the County Assembly for the good job, I am optimistic that the board is going to transform human resource in Vihiga," Dr. Ottichilo said.

The five member board was appointed following the expiry of the first Vihiga County Public Service Board early this year. The members of the board include; Amb. Frankline Esipila, Mark Alulu Siro, Vincent Mmaitsi, Catherine Idalia and Dr. Josiah Aketch.

The board's chairman Amb. Frankline Esipila pledged that they will do all that pertains the service board and work with dedication for proper service delivery. "We thank the Governor for having confidence in us and we will work to held him deliver on his mandate," Esipila noted.

Vihiga County Assembly Public Service Committee Chair Gladys Analo urged the new board to embrace equality and also enhance fairness in their discharge of duties.

The swearing in is a culmination of a process that began in May 2019, with over 200 applicants showing interest in the advertised positions. Out of the 200, 15 were shortlisted in a recruitment process that was conducted by an independent Human Resource firm. The 15 names were forwarded to the Governor for consideration where he selected six names for vetting by the County Assembly. After the rigorous vetting exercise, only five out the six names were approved by the Assembly.

26,300 children under the age of five are stunted in Vihiga county. This is according to Kenya Demographic Health Survey of 2014. To add on this, the research further alludes that malnutrition causes more than half of the deaths in the county. To alleviate this, the county government has launched a five year County Nutrition Action Plan.

Speaking during the launch of the plan in Gisambai Ward, Hamisi Sub County, Vihiga Governor Dr. Wilber Ottichilo said there is need for concerted efforts from all sectors to boost nutrition levels among it's citizenry starting with children.

“Good nutrition is good for the brain. We need to put emphasis on the young ones as they are growing to ensure they have proper nutrition.” Avered Dr. Ottichilo.

Lack of proper nutrition is among the leading causes of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) with statistics showing that Kenya loses 370,000 people annually to Non Communicable Diseases. Vihiga County Intergrated Development Plan(CIDP) 2018-2018 notes that in 2018, 22,136 persons were having Non-Communicable Diseases. This was an increase compared to 2017 figure of 14,185 people. Vihiga county boss narrated how most of the funerals in the county are attributed to NCDs.

Nutrition International were partner sponsors of the launch. Led by their President Joel Spicer who was the chief guest at the launch said there is need to invest in nutrition. "Investing in nutrition is investing in people", said Spicer. He said Kenya Government will spend 3 trillion shillings between 2010 - 2030 an indicator that more resources are needed in the nutrition spaces.