World Toilet Day: Kenya ranks poorly in latrine use

Pupils of Kibos Sugar Research Primary School wash their hands after visiting the latrine. [PHOTO: KEVINE OMOLLO/STANDARD]

With the world set to mark the World Toilet Day on Thursday, Kenya still ranks poorly in toilet use. Latest statistics show that 5.6 million people have no latrine at all and defecate in the open.

The Government and other stakeholders have been using the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach to educate Kenyans on the importance of sanitation through awareness creation on the health impact of open defecation. The approach, which leads to construction of latrines using locally available materials, has seen most areas achieve remarkable rise in latrine usage.