The Public Health Directorate has committed to eradicating open defecation to improve the hygiene and sanitation standards in Turkana County. So far, 934 villages have been certified as Open Defecation Free thanks to efforts by public health stakeholders. This week, Kasogol Etom village, located in Naipelilim, Loima, Turkana County, was declared Open Defecation Free (ODF). The village has 44 households, and all of them have been certified as practicing good hygiene and sanitation, making it the latest village in the county to achieve ODF status. Speaking during the celebrations, Deputy Director of Public Health and Sanitation Daniel Esimit pointed out that the village was fully WASH (Water, Sanitation and hygiene) compliant. The dispensary, school and community now have access to clean drinking water. ‘The villagers can attest that diarrhoea cases had reduced when they began building and using the latrines,’ he said. He said women now have the opportunity to engage in economic activities instead of spending most of their time looking for water. The community-led total sanitation strategy, funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) through UNICEF Kenya with Welthungerhilfe (WHH), sensitizes communities on the effects of poor sanitation. It helps communities to embrace social behaviour change leading to the use of latrines and promoting good hygiene practices. The partners involved in the project, including Director General – East Africa KOICA Ms. Hyewon Cho and UNICEF chief of WASH section, Mahboob Ahmed Bajwa who congratulated the villagers on their achievement and emphasized the importance of using latrines, including by young children. The event was attended by several representatives from WHH and health officers, including the County WASH Coordinator – Reuben Kibiego, Loima Sub-county Medical Officer of Health – Abdirahman Musa and Sub-county Public Health Officer – Elphas Maiyo.

Source: Kenya News Agency