Kenya has launched a policy aimed at eradicating unsanitary hygiene practices as it moves towards increasing access to improved sanitation.

The Kenyan government spends Ksh27 billion (±R4.2 billion) annually on hygiene-related diseases like Cholera. Speaking at the launch of the new policy, Kenyan Health Cabinet Secretary Dr Cleopa Mailu expressed hope that improved sanitary conditions will assist in lifting the burden of environmental sanitation and hygiene-related diseases.

 

Kenya’s sanitation problems

Open defaecation is still a problem in Kenya with a national open defaecation rate is reported to be 14% – roughly six million people.

Unsafe water and sanitation is reportedly the second leading risk factor and contributor to all mortality and morbidity burden in the East African country. According to policy documentation, more than 17 000 children under the age of five die from diarrhoea each year.

Access to improved sanitation only increased by 4% between 1990 and 2013 in Kenya. The new policy provides guidelines on how this can be resolved. These include proper waste disposal, provision of clean water, improved food hygiene, control of insect vectors and rodents, and improved personal hygiene practices.