Kilifi County has announced that the area is Open Defecation Free following interventions put in place to ensure families have toilets.
Speaking during the World Toilet day held at Chonyi area in Kilifi South constituency, Deputy Governor Flora Chibule said that the county had managed to eradicate cholera outbreak as the last case was reported seven years ago.
She added that the county was well prepared to tackle any health hazards that might arise from the ongoing El Nino rains and urged residents to observe high degree of hygiene.
“Our aim is to champion the use of toilets and we believe that in the near future we shall all be ODF,” she said.
The Kilifi County Director of Health Services Dr Hassan Lili said that 86 percent of the county’s population was now using toilets as opposed in the past where most residents made it to the bushes.
He added that residents in 955 villages had been sensitized through Universal Health Care providers on the importance of having toilets or pit latrines in their homes.
“We are doing disease surveillance during this rainy season and we have a toll free number that residents can call when faced with problems,” he said.
His sentiments were echoed by the chairman of the health committee at the Kilifi County Assembly Edward Ziro who said that MCAs passed a sensitization budget of Sh. 10 million for sensitization programs to teach residents the importance of toilets.
Mr Ziro who is also the Mwanamwinga MCA said that the assembly will always give priority to health matters by passing enough funds to the docket.
The Amref Water Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) programmes manager Daniel Kurau said that Kenya lost 5.6pc of GDP because of water borne diseases.
“We want all Kenyans to access sanitation by the year 2030 and we are happy that Kilifi has set 2024 as the deadline for ODF,” he said.
KBC Correspondent
