New approach to sanitation helps reduce cholera deaths

Nakuru County health officers show a pupil how to keep proper hygiene by washing her hands during celebrations to mark an Open Defecation Free (ODF) Day in Naivasha. The ODF campaign has reduced cholera deaths in Migori County. [PHOTO: Antony Gitonga/standard]

Kenya: A new approach to sanitation introduced in Migori County three years ago is credited for the low number of deaths following a cholera outbreak in February this year.

According to the County Deputy Public Health Officer Kennedy Ombogo, the Open Defecation Free (ODF) campaign that was initially started in Kuria sub-county is fast bearing fruit. The campaign is all about encouraging residents not to relieve themselves in the open, but to use latrines instead.