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Over 40 per cent of Kenyans do not have safe drinking water and another 81 per cent lack basic sanitation facilities. Current drought conditions have worsened the situation.

An estimated 9.9 million Kenyans drink water directly from contaminated sources while about five million people practice open defecation, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says.

Over the last 20 years, access to safe drinking water has increased by 12 per cent while access to basic sanitation has fallen by 12 per cent, the global body says.

Safe drinking water, basic sanitation and good hygiene practices are essential for the survival of children.

 Global evidence shows that better water, sanitation, and hygiene could prevent the deaths of 297,000 children aged under five each year globally. “We are facing an urgent crisis- poor access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene claim millions of lives each year, while the increasing frequency and intensity of climate-related extreme weather events continue to hamper the delivery of safe water and sanitation services,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (pictured), WHO Director-General.

Dr Ghebreyesus said there is a need for governments and development partners to strengthen water and sanitation systems and dramatically increase investment to extend access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation services to all by 2030, beginning with the most vulnerable.