KENYA – Kenya has secured KES 2.8B (US$24M) from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to address sanitation challenges in eight counties in Western Kenya.

Kenya, through the Western Kenya Sanitation Project (WKSP), entered into a 5-year programme with USAID to ensure residents living in Western Kenya have access to better sanitation standards.

The five-year project that ends in February 2027 will be implemented in eight counties including Busia, Bungoma, Kakamega, Kisumu, Siaya, Migori, Homabay and Kisii to enhance a sustainable and equitable access to sanitation targeting 500,000 people across the counties.

The Sanitation and Menstrual Hygiene Management Project seeks to address challenges facing the Water and Sewerage Department like the water shortage at Port Victoria Hospital that includes replacing the dysfunctional pump and installation of a 50 cubic meters tank at the health facility.

So far, the US$6.51M Malaba Water project that would pump 6,000 cubic meters of water per day is due for completion in September while the US$2.62M sanitation project is 90 per cent complete with construction of treatment plant, sewer pond and installation of sewer lines fully complete.

The sanitation project is in line with the Kenyan Government’s goal of achieving Open Defecation Free status by 2030 as well as policies on environmental sanitation, hygiene and Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM).

In addition, the National Government has set frameworks for county governments to legislate and invest in sanitation and MHM to protect human health from microbial hazards caused by human excreta & consequent adverse health outcomes.

The Ministry of Health has also collaborated with integrated Health & Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) partners to develop several policy documents and strategies that provide a framework for the implementation of Sanitation and Hygiene interventions.

Kenya enters partnership with Tunisia to enhance collaboration in health sector

Meanwhile, have entered into a new partnership specifically designed to strengthen the collaboration in their health sectors especially in the production of medical and pharmaceutical commodities.

During a bilateral meeting between Kenya’s Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe and his Tunisian counterpart Ali Mrabet, held at the side-lines of the World Health Assembly in Geneva, the two African nations agreed to enhance bilateral relations to foster technology sharing in vaccine manufacturing.

The two ministers said the new development was informed by valuable lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic and the need to be self-reliant.

The diplomatic ties will be important in sharing learned experiences as well as exposing health experts from the two nations to each other’s health systems.

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