Children and rural households bear the brunt as Kenya struggles to provide safe toilets and clean water.
Seventy-two per cent of Kenyans lack access to safely managed sanitation, underscoring the country's struggle to provide even the most basic human needs.
Safely managed sanitation means having access to drinking water from an improved source that is available on premises, accessible when needed, and free from faecal or chemical contamination. According to the 2000-24 Joint Monitoring Programme report by the World Health Organization and Unicef, only about 25 per cent of Kenyan households meet this standard -- leaving nearly 38 million people exposed to unsafe conditions.
While access to water has improved, it remains uneven. Nationally, 28 per cent of Kenyans lack basic drinking water, defined as water from an improved source requiring no more than a 30-minute round trip for collection.
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Additionally, 27 per cent of the population lacks basic hygiene services, such as soap and water for handwashing. These gaps contribute to preventable diseases, undermine productivity, and slow social and economic development.
The disparities are starkest between rural and urban areas. In cities, 82 per cent of residents have access to improved water and 31 per cent to safely managed sanitation. By contrast, only 57 per cent of rural households access improved water services, and just 18 per cent have safe sanitation. A family's location largely determines whether they can drink safe water or use decent toilets.
Children are among the hardest hit. The report shows that one in three schools lacks basic water services, while two out of three schools have no basic sanitation facilities. This creates unsafe learning environments and forces girls to miss classes during menstruation, increasing their vulnerability to infections and reinforcing cycles of inequality.
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Healthcare facilities are also strained. Nationally, 16 per cent of health centres lack basic water, 24 per cent lack sanitation, and 25 per cent lack hygiene services. Without clean water, safe toilets, and handwashing stations, both patients and healthcare workers face elevated risks of infection.
The challenges extend across Africa. Only 36 per cent of Africans have access to safely managed drinking water, 18 per cent to safely managed sanitation,and 37 per cent to basic hygiene services. Globally, the figures are higher: 58 per cent have safely managed sanitation.
But with Kenya at just 28 per cent coverage, the country falls far below the global average -- jeopardising progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 6, which aims for universal access to water and sanitation by 2030.
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Experts warn that the findings should serve as a wake-up call. "Safe water and sanitation are not luxuries -- they are the foundation of health and dignity," says Dr Jane Wambui, a public health specialist based in Nairobi. "When three-quarters of households lack safe toilets, the result is more disease outbreaks, higher healthcare costs, and children missing school."
Kenya's sanitation crisis, therefore, is not just about infrastructure -- it is a public health emergency demanding urgent political will and sustained investment.