The national government spent Sh27 billion in the last financial year on sanitation related diseases, Nakuru County Public Health Officer Samuel King'ori has said.
Nakuru County spent Sh972 million to deal with diseases related to sanitation, added King'ori.
He said the money could be saved if the health standards are observed.
Kingori who was speaking in Kuresoi during a sanitation campaign on Wednesday revealed that 81 villages in the county have been certified by third party to be open defecation free.
“This means that all the members of that village have and use the toilets, have hand washing facility and use them at critical times. It also means that they observe hygiene all the times and they control flies. It also insinuates that toilets are constructed according to the users who include the elderly, physically challenged and gender,” he said.
King'ori pointed out that according to the 2013 statistics by the Health Department, 70 per cent of the people in the hospitals are admitted due to diseases caused by poor sanitation.
“We are calling on the residents to observe hygiene so that we can be able to save the money that is directed towards the fighting and controlling of these diseases,” said the public health official.
King'ori stated that they would start a door to door campaign to educate residents on the need to observe good hygiene.