07 Dec 2017

Safe Water, Sanitation Key To Socio-Economic Transformation in Kenya

3.5 million people in Kenya were identified by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation in June 2017 as urgently requiring safe drinking water. Universal access to clean and safe drinking water and basic sanitation systems are key to achieving socio-economic transformation in countries, such as Kenya.

Access to clean water and sanitation can significantly reduce maternal and infant deaths. Safe drinking water and well-developed sewage services reduce the growing spread of communicable diseases, as well as increasing school enrolments and the productivity of working adults.

The Kenyan government has introduced a variety of initiatives to improve the sanitation and cleanliness of water in the country. The Cabinet Secretary for Health, Cleopa Mailu, reinforced the importance of robust and innovative financing models, in conjunction with political initiatives and investment in appropriate technologies. Accordingly, Kenya’s new water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) policy is forecasted to positively impact the economic and health status of communities across the country.

Many other innovative solutions to the issue of water sanitation have been identified around the globe. Zero Mass Water is an American organisation which extracts water moisture out of the air through their inventive technology, Source Hydropanels. This installation results in clean and quality drinking water. Already installed across eight countries, including Ecuador, Jordan and the Philippines, this technology is similarly predicted to improve water sanitation within Kenya.

LifeStraw, another global company, produces innovative filtration and purification products. LifeStraw has already begun distributing water purifiers to schools in rural parts of Kenya, with over 1,000 schools and 629,000 school children having received safe water since 2014. Their upcoming distribution in February 2018 expects to reach one million children.

A solar-powered water pump installed by Griftu Primary School in Kenya provides a constant supply of water to a newly built water tank. With this innovative, long-term solution allowing for the school to build segregated toilets for boys and girls, greater school enrolment and better hygiene education has been facilitated.

To learn more about access to safe drinking water and sanitation, join the 3rd annual Aid & Development Africa Summit to further discuss the WASH practice and other innovative solutions for water treatment. Organised by the Aid & International Development Forum (AIDF), the Summit agenda includes an evaluation of the success of current hygiene awareness and education initiatives in Africa.

Quality guidelines for safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) will be deliberated by a variety of expert speakers, including Alison Stone, Deputy Country Director for Innovation at Poverty Action Kenya, Patrick Paul Onyango, Programme Component Manager at GIZ Water Sector Reform Programme, Rage Adam, Head of M&E at Ministry of Public Works Reconstructions and Housing (Somalia) and Alberto Ibanez Llario, WASH & Solar Specialist at International Organization for Migration (IOM). For more topics and speakers, view the agenda at http://africa.aidforum.org/agenda

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Image Source: Food for the Hungry UK