Household access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene in Kajiado County, Kenya

A cross-sectional study was carried out in Kajiado central, East, West and south sub-counties with women aged 18 to 49 years. Survey targeted 768 women of reproductive age. National access to safe water in Kenya is currently at 63% while sanitation lags behind at only 30%. From the survey, access to safe water was found to be 62.3% compared to county average of 66.2%. More than half of the households (59.2%) do not have access to a toilet facility with 98.4% of those without access to a toilet defecating in the bush (Open defecation). Hand washing practice was found to be at 95.3%. However, only 40.3% of the respondents use appropriate hand washing facilities. Access to safe water in the county is still low compared to the national averages. The survey revealed that communities in the county get their water from unsafe sources.