More than half of Kenyan population living in both urban and rural areas do not have access to proper sanitation facilities.
According to Ministry of Health data, only 27% and 32% of urban and rural population have access to private and improved sanitation respectively.
However, Health CS Dr Cleopas Mailu speaking on Wednesday during the launch of Kenya Environmental Sanitation and Hygiene 2016-2030 Report, said that this is expected to change with the launch of the framework.
"The framework will outline key principles, strategies and actions while putting emphasis on increasing public and private sector investment to improve both urban and rural sanitation," said Mailu.
Mailu noted that poor sanitation was weighing heavily on the country's economy.
"Currently, Kenya spends about Sh27 billion annually due to poor sanitation. This is an amount enough to build and maintain a number of first-class health facilities," added Mailu.
He further noted that poor waste disposal in many urban areas was the major cause of water pollution leading to rise of sanitation-related diseases like cholera, influenza and so on.