ii. Water and sanitation
23. The Shona community households have similar access to improved drinking water as Kenyans
living in urban areas, although less access than nationals in Nairobi and Kiambu counties. Nationally,
Kenya has made strides toward improving access to drinking water, with 73 percent of households
reporting improved access, compared to 59 percent 10 years before.27 In urban Kenya, 87 percent
of households have access to improved drinking water, similar to the Shona community average of
88 percent (Figure 14). However, at the Nairobi and Kiambu county levels, Kenyans have better access
than the Shona community (p<0.01).
24. The Shona community reports lower access to improved sanitation, and they share toilets more
often than nationals. Poor sanitation conditions and waste disposal practices contribute to the spread
of infectious diseases and are linked to poorer development outcomes, including education and genderbased violence (Kayser et al. 2018; Singavarapu and Murray 2013; World Health Organization 2008,
2019). About 83 percent of the Shona population have access to an improved sanitation facility compared to 87 percent of households in urban Kenya (p<0.01; Figure 15). At the county level, nationals in
Kiambu have higher access to improved sanitation than the Shona community (96 percent vs. 74 percent, p<0.01). However, an opposite trend is noted in Nairobi (93 percent nationals vs. 97 percent
Shona, p<0.05). In addition, toilet sharing is more common among the Shona community than among
nationals, especially in Kiambu County (Figure 16). About 77 percent of households in the Shona community share a toilet facility with other household members compared to 66 percent among urban
nationals (p<0.01).
FIGURE 14: Access to drinking water for the Shona community and Kenyans
Percent of households
100
5
7
1
12
5
5
3
88
87
90
97
Shona
National
5
10
80
2
60
40
98
85
20
0
Shona
National
(urban)
Population average
Shona
Kiambu County
Improved
Unimproved
National
Nairobi County
Other
Source: Shona SES (2019) and KIHBS (KNBS 2015/16).
27 https://sun-connect-news.org/fileadmin/DATEIEN/Dateien/New/KNBS_-_Basic_Report.pdf
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