Judith Okello

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Authors

Patrick Meinhardt

Issue Date

2017-06-28

Type

Language

en

Keywords

Water and Sanitation

Research Projects

Organizational Units

Journal Issue

Alternative Title

Abstract

A safe pair of hands Location: Kisumu, Kenya (Nyalenda A, Nyalenda B and Obunga wards) Objective is to improve the nutritional status (reduced stunting and wasting) of at least 3,000 children under-5 and those who care for them, through WASH interventions. The total of direct beneficiaries is 11,250 At least 40% of Kenya’s population lives in informal settlements. Kisumu is Kenya’s third-largest city and as a major port located alongside Lake Victoria is a fast growing urban environment. Over60 % of Kisumu’s 500,000 residents are low-income tenants and over half of these lack access to toilets, with 83% lacking access to clean water and an estimated 12% of people still defecating in the open. Investment in water and sanitation services remains grossly inadequate and city administrators are struggling to cope with the challenges of population growth and urban sprawl. In  Nyalenda A, Nyalenda B & Obunga Kisumu’s high water table and frequent flooding greatly exacerbate the health hazards caused by poor access to water and sanitation services. These three communities are home to over 85,000 people (17% of the city’s population, and it is they, especially young children, of whom there are an estimated 11,000 living in the settlements, that most directly suffer the effects of poor sanitation and hygiene service provision. Currently, there are few water points in the settlements and in some cases people travel more 500 metres to access water from the existing water kiosks, which deters the practice of good handwashing. This project will increase access to water through construction of water points within the residential plots which host several households. Thus, the water points will be less than 50 metres from the households. Activities Promoting CLTS, faecal sludge management and low cost WASH technologies. At the household level, people will have access to running water and soap to facilitate handwashing. As a result, food preparation and feeding of children and washing of cooking and eating utensils will be more hygienic. This will mean that young children in the household are less likely to have recurring diarrhoea and less likely to be malnourished. At a community level, people will have more access to clean water that is closer to their homes. They will also better understand the importance of hand-washing and this knowledge will help them to hold each other to account and to facilitate a change in attitudes and behaviour. Through local community organisations and an inclusive approach, people will also have more opportunity to engage in the design and delivery of water and hygiene services and have greater ‘ownership’ of the project activities, outputs and outcomes.  At a policy making and implementation level, decision-makers will benefit from data and learning from the project to inform evidence based planning. They will also benefit from directly collaborating with local communities so that service promotion is more effective and therefore provides better value for money. Specifically the project will seek to facilitate the following Impact: 1.            Construct 2,500 new water points and rehabilitate 3kms of water pipeline extensions 2.            Facilitate 2,750 households, with young children under-5 years, to construct hand-washing facilities. 3.            Conduct participatory design sessions with local community members, including persons with disabilities, to design water points and handwashing facilities in collaboration with the private sector and local authorities. 4.            Train community based water operators on water resource management and operation maintenance of infrastructure, pro-poor tariffs and payment mechanisms and on monitoring the use of facilities. 5.            Train 750 households with, young children under-5 years, to practice safer water treatment, water storage and handling. 6.            Facilitate local community based artisans and small enterprises to manufacture and/or market low cost hand washing facilities and soap. 7.            Train carers of children, including teachers, on proper hand-washing practices, child environment contamination and faecal oral transmission routes. 8.            Teach young children (aged 3-5 years) about good handwashing and hygiene practices. 9.            Develop and share information, educational and communication materials that are appropriate to both carers of young children and young children themselves. 10.          Conduct public health campaigns through local media and outreach programmes within the local community, at local health facilities and educational institutions. 11.          Convene and facilitate a ‘hygiene promotion and early childhood health working group’ under the Kisumu County Council Inter-Agency Group to scale up public health campaigns. 12.          Develop and disseminate policy briefs to inform better decision making regarding provision of water, sanitation and health promotion facilities and services.

Description

Citation

Publisher

License

All Rights Reserved

Journal

Volume

Issue

PubMed ID

DOI

ISSN

EISSN