The East African Community (EAC) has rolled out a historic investment of Sh1.1 billion to address the pollution problem on Lake Victoria through sustainable management of effluents.
The Integrated Water Resources Management Programme (IWRMP) through funding from the European Union (EU) and the German Government through the KfW Development Bank seeks to support enhancing water quality, quantity issues and infrastructural needs in the low-income areas.
Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) and partners are implementing the IWRMP which is projected to run between 2023-2026.
Engineer Arsene Mukubwa, IWRMP coordinator said communities living around the lake basin from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda deserve to have access to sustainable, clean and safely managed water, sanitation and hygiene services.
Speaking during the commemoration of World Toilet Day in Kisumu County on Tuesday, Eng. Mukubwa decried the fact that the shared water mass is choking with toxic effluents from industries and households from the surrounding cities.
“In Kisumu County, we have more than 90 percent of households connected to water. Technically when you supply 100 litres of water to a household, they consume only 15 percent and 85 percent is converted into waste. This is the amount of untreated water being released into the environment,” he explained.
The initiative targets to establish innovative sanitation technologies in informal settlements with Kisumu’s Manyatta A estate earmarked for a high-priority investment in improved sanitation facilities.
This, noted Mukubwa, would help reduce the gap of poor access to sewer systems in the slum areas leading to the pollution of water resources.
Further, he noted that LVBC is leveraging collaborations with partner states, county governments and private organizations to accelerate the campaigns on the conservation of natural ecosystems.
Kisumu County Director for Public Health, Frederick Oluoch speaking during the occasion, noted that the Lakeside County has made remarkable milestones concerning infrastructure development in the water and sanitation sector.
“Around 75 percent of Kisumu’s population are still using unimproved toilets. The 25 percent with access to modern toilets by 2023 is a good progress compared with 19 percent in 2020,” Oluoch said.
Oluoch added that the county collaborates with like-minded partners to improve sanitation and address menstrual health hygiene in the area.
“This partnership will include redesigning some of our facilities to ensure dignity for our mothers and sisters during their periods,” he stated.
Additionally, he called for mass production of pads that can easily be broken down and the adoption of reusable menstrual products to avert wastes that are thrown out polluting the environment.
According to Meltus Mugomi Director of New Cities at Fresh Life Organization, deploying container-based toilets in low-income areas is the solution to reduce the sanitation gap in the country.
Mugomi avers that safe waste management in informal settlements has helped improve lake water quality through the safe disposal of waste collected from the containers.
The organization has established 7500 container-based toilets in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kisumu and Eldoret cities.
“Kisumu has over 1500 of these toilets and we are working towards expanding the numbers to increase sewer coverage. We have also managed to treat over 1000 metric tons of waste since inception in 2021 greatly contributing to protecting the lake from pollution,” stated Mugomi.
By Robert Ojwang’
