Schools in Kericho County will benefit from hand-washing facilities and sanitizers courtesy of the Kericho County Government and SNV, a Non-Profit international development organization in a project termed ‘WASH FIRST’.
The programme targets to distribute a total of 27 handwashing facilities, which will be mounted in schools, markets places and transport hubs.
Kericho County has greatly been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and currently, its positivity rate is at 17.1% where active cases are 78, total recoveries are 3,589 and a total of 198 persons have lost their lives due to Covid related cases.
While flagging-off a consignment of the hand-washing machines, Kericho County Deputy Governor, Lily Ng’ok, called on the public to adhere to Ministry of Health (MOH), Covid-19 protocols, by ensuring that they frequently wash their hands with running water, so as to reduce the spread of the Covid virus.
“These facilities will go an extra mile in increasing the number of people practicing handwashing with water and soap, especially in places where there is a crowd such as markets and bus stations,” said Mrs. N’gok.
She added that for constant behavioral change and practice in hand-washing, the facilities need to be available to the public and fully equipped with water and soap, she called on the stakeholders to ensure that the facilities are properly manned to avoid cases of vandalism.
County Executive (CECM) for Health services, Mr. Barnabas Ng’eno, appealed to the public to fully utilize the facilities.
He lauded the work done by the doctors and nurses in the County who he regarded as the frontline workers fighting the pandemic.
“We still have Covid-19 vaccines in various health centers and we call on the residents of Kericho County, especially the elderly to be vaccinated,” said Ng’eno
SNV has contributed to sustainable change in WASH delivery systems in the country. They envision a world that enables all people to access affordable and reliable WASH services thus leaving no one behind, by prioritizing in households, schools, and health facilities.
By Byegon Alfric and Gideon Kimutai
