Public health officers back environment bill, urge MPs to pass it

The Association of Public Health Officers has backed the Environmental Health and Sanitation Bill, 2023 urging lawmakers to pass it when it comes to the floor of the House.

Through the Secretary-General Mohamed Duba, the association described the proposed law as long overdue, saying it will ensure that all citizens enjoy a clean environment.

The bill that is sponsored by Mukurweini MP John Kaguchia seeks to ensure that all Kenyans enjoy their right to reasonable standards of sanitation and a clean and healthy environment.

Addressing journalists in Nairobi yesterday, Mr Duba lauded the bill, saying, it is in line with constitutional provisions that require the State to take necessary legislative, policy and other measures, including the setting of standards, to achieve the progressive realisation of the rights guaranteed under the Bill of Rights.

Mr Duba explained that the bill addresses inequity in the provision of access to a clean environment and adequate safe water in the country.

“Once the bill is enacted into law, rural, nomadic and pastoral communities who have been marginalised will be at par with other Kenyans,” Mr Duba said.

He said the punitive fines outlined in the Bill will act as a deterrence against environmental pollution.

Low penalties

“The law as it is currently constituted prescribes low penalties, as low as Sh250, which is not punitive enough to deter anyone from engaging in pollution of the environment,” Mr Duba said.

If enacted into law, Mr Duba said, the bill will play a major role in the reduction of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases that are attributed to climate change.

The main policy objective is to prevent and reduce health risks associated with environmental hazards and to tackle the social and economic costs of preventable diseases associated with poor sanitation and environmental pollution.

Among the proposals of the bill, is that hospital owners will be fined up to Sh500, 000 or sentenced to prison for a term not exceeding one year, or both, if they fail to develop and maintain a facility sanitation and healthcare waste management plan.

Sanitary accommodations

They are also required to provide adequate sanitary accommodations and shower rooms for each gender and persons with disability, provide adequate capacity to clean and sanitise all dishes, utensils and equipment related to foods production, and to ensure all waste shall be disposed of by public sewerage system.

The bill also stipulates that those operating food establishments will be required to get authority from county health departments and also keep records of any necessary information on their sources of food and its raw materials failure to which they will be liable to a fine of Sh500, 000 or face a jail term not exceeding three months, or both.

According to the bill, employees in food establishments must obtain a certificate of medical examination issued by county health authorities and should also be vaccinated against any infectious diseases.