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Only 49 per cent of residents have access to improved sanitation, a new study has revealed.
The survey conducted by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) and the Society for International Development also established that majority of residents draw their water from boreholes while others rely on unprotected sources for the commodity.
According to the study whose findings were released yesterday, Ugunja and Ugenya sub-counties had the highest number of residents who have access to improved sanitation.
Speaking during the launch of the report dubbed 'Exploring Kenya's Inequality: Pulling Apart or Pooling Together?’ SID Programmes Officer Mary Muyonga attributed poor sanitation in the region to poverty.
"Only 36 per cent of the county's population use clean sources of water with Ugunja sub-county having the highest at 58 per cent. This is four times higher than Bondo," said Muyonga. At ward level, Yala township ward had the highest number of residents using clean sources of water at 76 per cent, while West Yimbo ward had the lowest at 0.1 per cent.
Water-borne diseases
Currently, Kenya spends more than Sh20 billion in treating sanitation-related diseases annually.
The report also noted that just like water and sanitation, education attainment was below 50 per cent, with only 16 per cent of residents boasting secondary level education or above.
Elsewhere, more than 3,000 people in Mageta Island in West Yimbo have a reason to smile after the completion of Sh6 million Western Kenya Community Driven Development and Flood Mitigation project.
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