• Some Sh500 million is used to cure diseases in Mombasa that can be prevented
Access to safe and improved drinking water stands at 55.9 per cent nationally. According to Hakii Jamii, an NGO, sanitation covers 30 per cent in the country.
In Mombasa alone, access to safe water stands at 24 per cent. Water, Health and Sanitation Coast region coordinator Jeremiah Kiwoi says the government should invest more in prevention than cure. He blames the government for doing the opposite, spending a lot on curing rather than preventing.
While speaking to the Star, he said Sh500 million is used to cure diseases in Mombasa that can be prevented. He insisted on giving sanitation a higher priority in terms of budgeting.
“The county is using a lot of money to cure. That money could have been used to give people clean water, hygiene and sanitation, and health would have improved,” Kiwoi said.
Some diseases brought about by poor sanitation are cholera, diarrhoea, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio. Kiwoi blamed these on use of unsafe water and use of toilets without washing hands or cleaning of the toilet and also use of bushes as toilets. He called for education on matters of hygiene, saying many do not know their importance.
Kiwoi blamed culture for some of the woes, as some tribes at the Coast forbid the use of one toilet by everyone in the household. “For example, in Kwale, they believe that it is not good for one single toilet to be used by everyone in the family,” Kiwoi said.
He said having a policy requiring one to build a toilet first before building their house would help to ensure there are enough toilets.
He said instead of talking about issues that do not bring meaning to the country, it is high time the government gives more priority to sanitation and clean water.
On the World Toilet Day, usually celebrated on November 19, the people of Muoroto were disappointed because their toilets are not up to standard.
To protest against the unfavourable conditions they are living in, which puts them at risk of infections, they wrote a letter, wrapped human faeces and dirty water in a container and wrapped it up with a gift wrapper and gave it to the assembly clerk.
“The gift was meant for the governor but we heard that he was sick so we had to give it to the clerk instead, so we knew the message would reach the governor,” Sarah Ndunge, a resident, said.
But until now, they say, nothing has been done and they still are living in the same conditions they have gotten used to.
According to the World Health Organisation, inadequate sanitation causes about 432,000 diarrhoea deaths annually. Poor sanitation also contributes to malnutrition.