Ant and Dec in Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya - one of the biggest slums in Africa. Ant and Dec visited a Practical Action project in Kibera for Comic Relief in 2007. In this photo, the camera man is filming a pit latrine.
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Authors
Morris Keyonzo
Issue Date
30/01/2015
Type
Language
en
Keywords
Water and Sanitation
Alternative Title
Ant and Dec visit Kenya for Comic Relief 2007
Abstract
Improved toilets in Kenya Ant & Dec see the realities of sanitation in the slums On their visit to Kenya two years ago, UK television personalities Ant and Dec visited a Practical Action project in Kibera, near Nairobi. You can see what they found there in this video. Kibera is one of the largest slums in Africa, with around 750,000 people crammed into a few square kilometres. The problems caused by such congestion are made worse by the fact that there are so few toilets and bathrooms. As a result, an estimated 250-300 people are forced to share each pit latrine. At the most basic level, these can be little more than holes in the ground with planks across for people to put their feet on whilst they squat, and such numbers are far in excess of World Health Organisation guidelines. The absence of adequate and affordable sanitary facilities has lead to the widespread use of “flying toilets”, so named because people ‘go’ on a piece of paper or in a polythene bag and then throw the excrement into the alleyways. Thousands of people live in these deplorable conditions and water supplies are frequently contaminated as a result of the poor sanitation. Ant & Dec were able to see how Practical Action was helping local people in Kibera install a new shower and toilet block. These new facilities have helped to make an enormous difference to people’s lives. The smell of the pit latrines has gone, together with the pools of stagnant bathing water in the pathways. New water points have reduced the distance that residents of some 2,500 households have to walk to fetch water from an average of one kilometre to just 300 metres, and the quality and reliability of the supply has improved significantly too. School children are being encouraged to practice good hygiene and new hand-washing facilities have been installed in eight schools. Most importantly though, local clinics report that cases of typhoid, dysentery and hookworm infestations are on the decline and lives are being saved. You can view the related video on the Practical Action website.
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