ICROSS The International Community for the Relief Of Starvation and Suffering 

Mission Statement

A World free of suffering and infant death where people can be cared for by people who speak their own language, and understand the local culture, traditions and beliefs. Our vision together with our partners, is a world without hunger and starvation realising that we live in a world of great wealth and resources. We believe in compassion and kindness based on shared understanding, equality and empathy.

Mission Statement 2020

ICROSS seeks to reduce disease suffering and poverty among the poorest of the poor. We intend to continue to create awareness and knowledge based on the values and beliefs of the local communities we serve.

Where Do We Work?

ICROSS began its work among pastoral communities in East Africa in 1979. For almost 40 years, we gradually extended the coverage of our work from central Kenya to vulnerable communities in the Western counties of Kenya, particularly in the areas of HIV/AIDS. We have worked in Samburu, Kajiado, Nakuru, Bungoma, Nzoia, Siayia, Bondo, Buret and Mumias in Kenya and Arusha, Dodoma and Monduli in Tanzania. In addition, we have provided technical and material support to an extensive network of partner National local INGOs and Faith-based projects. This has included the first series of global health courses in Nepal lectures in international development in Cambodia as well as program evaluations in other south East Asia countries. Our core focus remains endangered pastoral communities across Kenya’s Rift Valley

What Are Our Key focus Areas?

Community Owned Primary Health Care
Child- Survival, Training Traditional Birth Attendants, reduction of maternal deaths, gender-rights awareness, commercial-sex workers support, female circumcision harm reduction, safe motherhood, education and girls. Children’s

Poverty Reduction
Training health workers in desert areas, trachoma blindness control, diarrhoea control, tribal community health programmes, surgical training, desertification projects.

Children’s Rights and Gender and Development
Child-to-child sanitation and hygiene, pediatric disease control, child survival, immunization, primary health care, infant mortality control, AIDS orphans and vulnerable children’s rights, child health promotion.

Community Strengthening
Disease surveillance, women group developments, technical support to small organisations, legal and material support, water and sanitation projects, ICROSS resource leverage, partnership development and networking.

HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria prevention
Disease surveillance, women group developments, technical support to small organisations, legal and material support, water and sanitation projects, ICROSS resource leverage, partnership development and networking.

Poverty Awareness
Campaigning for child health, human rights, health rights and water rights

ICROSS has pioneered the field of community focused operational research for 39 years in East Africa. We currently are helping health teams to develop working models of locally based monitoring programmes. We are working with dynamic young health professionals in helping them understand the basic requirements of developing evaluation systems.

ICROSS International has been implementing public health programmes for nearly 40 years. As a dynamic learning organisation, an important priority is to evaluate and assess the impact of programmes and innovations over time. Since 1981, ICROSS has continually published in the world’s leading scientific journals.

A vital part of our work is to share an understanding of applied operational field research and apply the highest International standards. We are building research networks and capabilities as part of our five-year strategic plan 2016-2020. We are also training a new generation of young researchers in Africa and Asia in effective methodologies and best practice in scientific research.

For over 38 years, ICROSS has focused on reproductive health care as part of a dynamic health improvement strategy targeting co-ordinated school health promotion. The first key element being an ICROSS prevention program is integrating management and health support systems. This is based on creating healthy schools with nutritional support and close family community involvement. since 1983. ICROSS has been involved in pioneering effective public health programmes, integrating long term family planning with community ownership of public health intervention in their area. In 1993, we integrated our family planning programmes into long term mother and child health care.  Safe motherhood remains at the centre of our public health services since the early 1980s.

Following this week’s workshop ICROSS updated programme ​ ​teams on the latest WHO web platform for data and statistics and synthesis for information it also updated teams on the latest international prevention measures including Malaria prevalence and the historic launch​ of malaria vaccine pilot studies. This initiative was launched at the end of April in​ Kenya, ​ the most significant Malaria prevention strategy of recent decades.