Only a quarter of the Kenyan population has access to facilities to wash their hands, especially after using latrines.
Kenya’s Deputy Director of Public Health Gamaliel Omondi said this exposes the majority of Kenyans to communicable diseases.
He spoke when Kenya marked Global Hand Washing Day in Homa Bay, with the government calling on citizens to embrace washing hands to prevent communicable diseases.
Homa Bay is one of the 23 counties where locals have the highest chances of contracting such diseases, according to the national government.
Also on the list are Siaya, Migori, Kisumu, Nyamira, Kajiado, Samburu, Kilifi, Turkana and counties in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands within Kenya.
The Ministry of Health said hand-washing is a way to keep Ebola at bay.
Speaking on Saturday at Rakwaro chief’s camp in Karachuonyo constituency, Omondi said research has revealed that regular washing of hands prevents communicable diseases by 60 per cent.
According to Omondi, only 25 per cent of Kenyans have hand-washing facilities.
It was also revealed that 15 counties among them, Homa Bay, have people who defecate in the open.
He said hand washing also prevents respiratory infections. Omondi said Ebola is preventable if proper hygiene is kept.
“World Health Organization proved it during the Covid-19 pandemic that hand washing helped to contain the spread of the disease. Hospital admissions with most communicable diseases reduced significantly due to hand washing,” Omondi said.
Present were head of handwashing in the ministry Adam Mohamed and Kenya’s Wash programme manager at Amref Health Africa Daniel Kurao, and senior manager of Population Services (PS)-Kenya, Nancy Njoki.
Others include the coordinator for school health and nutrition at the Ministry of Education Florence Musalia and Homa Bay Public Health Officer James Kabaka.
The theme of this year’s Global Hand Washing Day is "Unite for universal hand hygiene".
Omondi said such celebrations are held in different counties to enhance awareness at the grassroots.
The official called for an attitude change towards hand washing, saying it is cost-effective.
“It’s easy to prevent communicable diseases through washing hands than when going to the hospital for treatment. We need to change our behaviours and succeed in fighting the diseases,” he added.
During the event, it was revealed that many Kenyans still do not have hand-washing facilities. This is likely to increase the burden particularly in counties facing drought.
Mohamed said Kenya is targeting to be open defecation-free zone by 2026.
He said the Ministry of Health has come up with a programme called rural and urban sanitation hygiene protocol and road map that is meant to address these challenges.
“The programme is aiming at improving hygiene and doing away with open defection. We expect to have toilets at homes, markets and schools to address the matter,” Mohamed said.