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.

2015 data updated by the World Bank recently indicates that 21 million Kenyans use unsanitary or shared latrines, a situation which has led to too much money being spent treating diarrhea diseases. The statistics also show that 2.5 billion people globally do not have access to proper sanitation including latrines.

Even though there is no clear data on latrine usage in Western Kenya, health stakeholders have expressed fears that counties may still be spending a lot of money on managing diseases which could be reduced if sanitary conditions were maintained.

SOIL STRUCTURE

Poverty, poor soil structure and culture have been blamed for the slow response to latrine usage in the area.

Living Water International Public Communication Officer Carolyne Magodo said the weak soil structure in most parts of Nyanza and Western regions combined with the perennial floods discourage people from constructing latrines.

The Luo and Luyha cultures are also strict on the sharing of latrines betwee in-laws, a situation which forces those 'prohibited' from sharing latrines to resort to use of bushes.

"People do not understand the need of having latrines though awareness is being created. Most people tend to feel that latrines are too expensive to construct. However, with the CLTS approach we are educating them on using locally available materials," she added.

Kenya will celebrate World Toilet Day in Busia County.

World Bank statistics show that approximately 19,500 Kenyans including 17,100 children under the age of five die each year from diarrhea, and 90 per cent of the diseases are directly attributed to poor sanitation and hygiene.