Community Hygiene and Sanitation

Employing Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation strategies.

Projects focus on improving access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services, often through school-based interventions and community-led initiatives, with a focus on promoting sustainable practices and behavior change.

Specific Challenges in Nyanza and Western Kenya

In Nyanza and Western Kenya, community hygiene and sanitation face challenges, with limited access to improved sanitation facilities and a prevalence of open defecation, particularly in rural areas. 

Without improved sanitation –people have no choice but to use inadequate communal latrines or to practise open defecation. For women and girls, finding a place to go to the toilet outside, often having to wait until the cover of darkness, can leave them vulnerable to abuse and sexual assault.

In the immediate environment, exposed faecal matter will be transferred back into people’s food and water resources, helping to spread serious diseases such as cholera. Beyond the community, the lack of effective waste disposal or sewerage systems can contaminate ecosystems and contribute to disease pandemics.

The Challenges:

 
  • Limited Access to Improved Sanitation: A significant portion of the population lacks access to improved sanitation facilities, with a substantial percentage practicing open defecation, especially in rural areas. 
     
  • Open Defecation: Remains a problem, with a notable percentage of households engaging in this practice. 
     
  • Poor Hygiene Practices: Some residents are not keen on personal hygiene, contributing to the spread of diseases. 
     
  • Water Quality Concerns: Access to safe drinking water is also a concern, with reliance on potentially contaminated sources. 
     
  • Lack of Resources: In some areas, there is a shortage of resources for sanitation and hygiene infrastructure, such as latrines and handwashing facilities. 

Interventions to Address the Problem:

1. Community-Based Approaches:

  • Community-Based Distribution (CBD) Networks: Where trained community members distribute health products, information, and services, promoting hygiene and sanitation practices. 
  • Care Groups: Integrating wash and nutrition interventions through care groups, focusing on food hygiene, mealtime practices, compound cleanliness, and handwashing, can lead to improved household behaviors. 
  • Behavioral Change Techniques: To influence the uptake of targeted behaviors related to food hygiene, mealtime and feeding, and compound cleanliness can be effective. 
  • Refresher Training for Community Health Workers (CHWs): To improve their health knowledge, while financial incentives can enhance their job satisfaction and performance. 

2. School-Based Interventions:

  • School WASH Programs: Providing soap, water treatment, or improvements to sanitation facilities in schools can reduce absenteeism due to diseases, improve pupils’ health, and enhance learning outcomes. 
  • Menstrual Hygiene Management: Ensuring access to adequate WASH services, including facilities for menstrual hygiene management, can improve girls’ attendance and well-being. 
  • School-Based Safe Water and Hygiene Programs: Focus on  hygiene practices can improve students’ knowledge and parents’ adoption of safe water and hygiene practices. 

3. Policy and Infrastructure:

  • Open Defecation Eradication:
    Initiatives focus on eradicating open defecation and promoting the use of latrines to control the spread of diseases. 

Relationship Between WASH and Education

Many children in low-income communities with no access to WASH are unable to attend class because they are sick with a diarrhoeal disease or, particularly in the case of girls in low income communities, because they have to spend large parts of each day fetching water for their family.

For adolescent girls, the presence of a safe water supply and clean, functioning, private toilet facilities can be the difference between dropping out and getting an education. Furthermore, hygiene education at school can begin a lifetime of better health for all children.

  • Improved Health and Reduced Absenteeism: Access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene practices reduces the risk of waterborne diseases and other illnesses, leading to fewer school absences and better student health. 
  • Enhanced Learning Environment: Adequate WASH facilities, including clean toilets and handwashing stations, create a more comfortable and hygienic environment for students, allowing them to focus on their studies rather than worrying about health issues. 
  • Increased School Attendance: When schools have adequate WASH facilities, students, especially girls, are more likely to attend school regularly, leading to improved educational outcomes. 
     
  • Improved Academic Performance: Studies have shown a correlation between improved WASH facilities and better academic performance, as students who are healthy and comfortable are better able to learn and retain information. 
  • Reduced Gender Inequality: Lack of adequate sanitation facilities, especially for girls, can lead to school dropout. Improving WASH in schools can help address gender disparities in education. 
  • Hygiene Education: Integrating WASH education into the school curriculum can promote healthy hygiene practices among students, empowering them to become agents of change in their communities.