The Nakuru County public health department will set up mobile toilets in areas where truck drivers park for the night to prevent cases of people relieving themselves on the road.
County public health officer Samuel King’ori said that they were targeting Maai-Mahiu, Longonot, Pipeline and Salgaa areas for the initiative.
“We have noted that there are no designated areas where people can relieve themselves. This creates a problem because when nature calls, they go to the bushes, hence creating a health problem,” said King’ori.
He was speaking during celebrations to declare Longonot village an open defecation free zone. King’ori said that the decrease in the number of cases related to diarrhoeal infections had reduced by 75 percent since the initiative was launched.
“Majority of the diseases are caused by faeces spread out in the area. We had to work with the community to remove all the faeces and we went door-to-door. In some cases we had to go to the forests to ensure that it was clean and after a year, we declared it a defecation free area,” he added.
Benedict Ondieki, the county health officer admitted that dealing with diapers had been a major challenge as residents left them scattered all over.
“We have poorly disposed of diapers everywhere. It is a huge problem to the town but we are looking to make their disposal an income generating venture,” he added.
Nominated MCA Esther Magere proposed to have the diapers turned into organic fertiliser to address the waste disposal issue.