Efforts have been made to improve sanitation, but we must do more

Proper sanitation facilities prevent outbreak of diseases like cholera, dysentery and diarrhoea. [File, Standard]

Six years to 2030, the deadline for the delivery of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Kenya, like many other countries, is still off track on SDG 6 on water and sanitation. The sanitation component in particular lags behind, with priority being put more on water.

An estimated 70 per cent lack access sanitation, with almost five million people practicing open defecation. Garissa County leads in cases of open defecation at 64.6 per cent, while in Murang'a County, the cases are at 0.2 per cent.

There's no denying that sanitation is a critical issue that affects the health, well-being and development of communities.

Health-wise, poor sanitation is a major contributor to outbreaks of diseases like cholera, dysentery and diarrhoea. It thus follows that improved sanitation boosts productivity and economic growth by reducing healthcare costs and increasing attendance to work.

Research shows that in some developing countries, children, especially girls, are mostly denied their right to quality education since the schools they attend lack decent and private sanitation facilities.

Inadequate sanitation can also lead to contamination of water sources, affecting both human and animal health.

So what can be done to address the problem of poor sanitation?

At the national government level, there is a need to develop a policy to establish an enabling framework to ensure universal access to equitable and sustainable safely managed sanitation services across the service chain.

At the local level, there is a need to increase awareness within communities on the impacts of poor sanitation to their health and well-being.

Sensitisation would also be targeted at addressing cultural barriers that may influence some communities' negative attitudes towards sanitation.

Further, different financing models should be identified and implemented to avail resources for sanitation projects.

It is also important to engage the target communities with attractive incentives to improve their sanitation facilities.

Murang'a West Water and Sanitation Company is undertaking one such initiative to construct more sanitation facilities through the Water Fund. Through the project, household owners are encouraged to improve their toilets to some set standards. Once the toilets in their compounds are completed, the household owners get a token of Sh20,000. This is helping to improve hygiene in the rural set up.

The concept by Water Sector Trust Fund is designed to facilitate the water companies to improve sanitation within the community set up as a way to prevent some of the disease.

Between 2015 and 2016, the Water Sector Trust Fund facilitated 32 water and sanitation programmes at a cost of Sh303.9 million targeting 181,998 beneficiaries.

Across the country, there are hundreds of sanitation programmes initiated by various players in an effort to improve sanitation and keep diseases and bay.

While such efforts are commendable, there is need to do even more to improve sanitation to only meet the SDG 6 but also to improve the health of our nation.

Mr Kamau is the Managing Director, Murang'a West Water and Sanitation Company Ltd