Wash hands to save lives

By REBECCA GICHANA

Poor sanitation is responsible for the deaths of more than 17,000 Kenyan children each year.

This is according to the results of a study highlighted during this year’s World Water Day that was marked at the City Stadium last weekend. More than 1,000 children from Nairobi took part in the event dubbed the Wash Festival. The laughter-filled event, organised by Wash United, was not short of exciting games, prizes and fun for the whole family. It also attracted football stars from different clubs.

According to the study, Kenya is facing a crisis with regard to access to safe drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (Wash). Currently, 21 million Kenyans use unsanitary or shared latrines, while 5.6 million still defecate in the open. Hand washing with soap at critical times, such as before eating and preparing food, after using the toilet and after cleaning a baby’s bottom, can greatly reduce the risk of contracting diarrhoea. Sadly, this is not widely practised in Kenya. The consequences are severe, as in the case of preventable diarrhoea, nearly 90 per cent of which is directly attributed to poor Wash. Diarrhoea is the biggest killer of children under the age of five.

Hodari Youth Sports Foundation, Mathare Youth Sports Organisation, Our Kids Foundation, Circle Digital and What Took You So Long Foundation were partners in the festival that featured games imported from India’s Wash United Nirmal Bhatra, the country’s largest sanitation campaign.

Speaking to Generation Next, Arpana Shrivasta, Wash United Africa’s programme manager, said: “We are very happy about the festival because it reached the target we wanted. Through this campaign, we will be able to prevent diseases.”

In the coming months, Wash United will develop a street art campaign in cooperation with Kibera-based artists who have worked with Kuona Trust.Those who attend the campaign will have an opportunity to work with the artists and even join the campaign.

World Water Day is celebrated worldwide on March 22.