Big win for villages as Nakuru readies for city status on Wednesday

At least 150 villages in Nakuru Town East and Nakuru Town West sub-counties have been certified as open defecation-free zones.

Nakuru previously spent about Sh1 billion annually on treating ailments associated with poor sanitation, said Health executive Dr Gichuki Kariuki.

“Poor sanitation has been costly for the county, but (we are) dedicated to reversing the situation. For instance, we are improving toilet coverage in the region through various community projects. Toilets are essential for proper disposal of human waste and hence a reduction of sanitation-related illnesses,” said Dr Gichuki.

Nakuru will this Wednesday finally get its charter elevating it to a city.

In the past two years, the county government has been constructing toilets in various areas in the two sub-counties in a bid to improve sanitation.

The county government, through the World Bank-funded Kenya Urban Support Programme (KUSP), built toilets in several informal settlements, including Kaptembwa, Pondamali, Kwa Rhonda, Kivumbini, Flamingo and Bondeni.

The move was part of efforts to attain Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and end open defecation by 2030, Dr Kariuki said.

“Sanitation is a basic human need that plays a critical role in human life and certainly not a subject to be ignored because it makes people uncomfortable. Providing proper sanitation services is an economic benefit as it creates more time for productive pursuits," he said.

“Nakuru is committed to improving sanitation by increasing toilet coverage in high-density areas and informal settlements. We want to achieve universal access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene.”

This year, the county will use part of Sh429.7 million it will receive for urban development and upgrading slums in Nakuru and Naivasha towns to build more toilets.

Cannot afford to pay

Nakuru will receive Sh293.4 million of the grant, while Naivasha will get Sh136.3 million.

So far hundreds of thousands of residents in the informal settlements of Nakuru town have benefited from the toilets built by the county government and development partners.

With the growing number of street families who could not afford pay-toilets, open defecation had remained a major challenge in the populous town.

Some people who don’t live in the streets but cannot afford to pay Sh10 or Sh20 for pay-toilets also defecate in the open.

To end the behaviour, the county government earlier this year signed a memorandum of understanding with public toilet operators to come up with a legal framework for providing waivers for street families and those who cannot afford the user fees.

Street families have been known to defecate in dark alleys, on public flower beds along roads and even on footpaths.

Defecating in the open results in a higher prevalence of diseases like amoebiasis, typhoid and cholera.

County health authorities now hope to declare the region free from open defecation in the coming years.

Data from the health department shows that Nakuru used to lose millions of shillings because of poor sanitation but now saves Sh70 million annually in Naivasha and Nakuru Town West alone.

Last year, the Nakuru county government became the first to launch a sanitation programme, called Nakuru countywide inclusive sanitation strategy, to improve its sanitation services as Nakuru town becomes a city.

In 2015, a cholera outbreak claimed 17 lives while 298 cases were reported in one month in Nakuru.

The county has since set up three cholera prevention and treatment centres in strategic areas in Nakuru, including Langalanga, Rhonda and Rongai.

Data from the Ministry of Health shows that more than six million Kenyans still defecate in the open.

A World Bank report on water and sanitation, released in 2014, indicated that Kenya lost at least Sh27 billion each year due to poor sanitation.