ICROSS, which stands for "the International Community for the Relief of Suffering and Starvation" is a Kenyan-based non-governmental organization founded by Michael Meegan, Joseph Barnes and Thomas O'Riordan which specialises in long term primary health, community health care and public health programmes. The organisation's headquarters are based in Ngong, Rift Valley, Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

. ICROSS www.icrossinternational.org . ICROSS has a long established research programme with a number of different patrners and research collaborators.

Activities

ICROSS www.icrosskenya.org works as a Kenyan-based development NGO, with a focus in the field of health, with key international lectures including the RedR Future shocks lecture,. ICROSS is responsible for a large terminal care programme and a series of public health programmes. One of ICROSS's key research streams has been investigating means of solar disinfection (SODIS) of contaminated drinking water, and has helped conduct a number of control trials of SODIS. Engaged in multi country collaborative programmes www.rcsi.ie/hwts09 ICROSS stresses traditional tribal values, building development programmes through the exisyting decision systems and creating locally driven agendas.

International profile
ICROSS campaigns have included Africa awakes which tries to change the stereotypes and negative perceptions of Africa www.africa-awakes.com These exhibitions have received wide media coverage in Italy and France. ICROSS public health work has been cited Internationally , medical work has appeared in key scienticif journals since 1981.
Meegan who received many international awards http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Elmore-Meegan was featured in BBC's Hardtalk

HARDtalk

Hardtalk is a flagship BBC television programme, consisting of in-depth half-hour one-on-one interviews.It is broadcast four days a week on BBC World News and the BBC News channel. Launched in 1997, much of its worldwide fame is due to its global reach via BBC World...

 current affair's programme for his work for ICROSS while in 2006 the organisation was the subject of an award winning documentary by Irish Television. ICROSS and its Founders have received widespread recognition for their work, especially in long term public health and creating lasting community development programmes. ICROSS spcialises in long term pastoralist health programmes, the most recent example of which was opened in December 2010 at Ilkilorit, Maasai land in Kenya. They have been covered extensively in the media, most recently for SODIS and for Africa awakes campaigns fighting racism, prejudice and stereotypes. In 2003 the founder received International person of the year in Ireland and in 2006 was the second person ever to receive a D Med Honoris Causa for his work in International health.www.nui.ie/college/docs/citations/2006/meegan.pdf

ICROSS work is widely cited ( see google scholar ) and the administration is entirely Africanied since August 2000.

Media news items include research http://www.emwis.net/initiatives/fol060732/proj634131 http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/library/letter-2003-10-16.html The International NGO which has multi lateral and bi lateral donors. Since 2003 the expansion of ICROSS International has seen the creation of an International Advisory board in 2009 chaired by Dr Davida de La Harpe. In October 2009 ICROSS launched www.icrossinternational.org and www.icrosskenya.org

Michael Meegan has also written numerous books on his work with ICROSS including 'All Will Be Well'(the successor to 'All Shall Be Well'), 'Surprised by Joy' and 'Changing the World 2008 A new series of books is being published by eye books www.eye-books.con

In January 2010 ICROSS Kenya extended its Rural health programmes. In March ICROSS Kenya began legal action in Ireland to try and establlish where funds raised for Kenyan projects had gone. The co founder of ICROSS Dr Joe Barnes installed a new Board of Directors in ICROSS Ireland july 2010 and funding to ICROSS Kenya programmes resumed. This funding was raised by the Founders

Research

Published research conducted by ICROSS includes:

1 Elmore-Meegan M, Conroy RM, Agala CB. Sex workers in Kenya, numbers of clients and associated risks: an exploratory survey. Reprod Health Matters 2004;12(23):50-7.

2 Meegan ME, Conroy RM, Lengeny SO, Renhault K, Nyangole J. Effect on neonatal tetanus mortality after a culturally-based health promotion programme. Lancet 2001;358(9282):640-1.

3 Conroy RM, Meegan ME, Joyce T, McGuigan K, Barnes J. Solar disinfection of drinking water protects against cholera in children under 6 years of age. Arch Dis Child 2001;85(4):293-5.

4 Meegan M, Morley DC. Growth monitoring: family participation: effective community development. Trop Doct 1999;29(1):23-7.

5 Conroy RM, Meegan ME, Joyce T, McGuigan K, Barnes J. Solar disinfection of water reduces diarrhoeal disease: an update. Arch Dis Child 1999;81(4):337-8.

6 Meegan M, Morley D, Chavasse D. Fly traps. Lancet 1997;349(9055):886.

7 Meegan M, Morley DC, Brown R. Child weighing by the unschooled: a report of a controlled study of growth monitoring over 12 months of Maasai children using direct recording scales. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 1994;88(6):635-7.

8 Conroy RM, Meegan ME. Dwindling donor aid for health programmes in developing countries. Lancet 1994;343(8907):1228-9.

9 Meegan MK. Rethinking famine relief. Lancet 1992;340(8830):1293-4.

10 Konings E, Anderson RM, Morley D, O'Riordan T, Meegan M. Rates of sexual partner change among two pastoralist southern Nilotic groups in east Africa. Aids 1989;3(4):245-7.

11 Meegan M, McCormick J. Prevention of disease in the poor world. Lancet 1988;2(8603):152-3.

12 Meegan M. Starvation and suffering. Lancet 1983;2(8365-66):1506.

13 Meegan M. The reality of starvation and disease. Lancet 1981;1 (8212):146.