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Effectiveness of safe hygiene kits distribution in advancing Maternal and Child health

Diana Mulatya and Alyn Achieng Omondi

In Kenya, approximately one-third of child deaths annually are due to under nutrition and _% of mortality is linked to unsafe WASH practices.1 The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 50 percent of malnutrition is associated with recurrent bouts of diarrhea, frequently caused by unsafe water, insufficient sanitation, and inadequate hygiene. 2 Diarrhea is also a leading cause of under nutrition and one-third to one-half of all child mortality cases are linked to under nutrition. If mothers and other caregivers used basic hygiene practices and had better access to safe water and adequate sanitation this could greatly reduce under 5 deaths and improve child nutrition. Ensuring that no child dies of preventable deaths requires a pragmatic approach to implementing programs and includes exploring opportunities to reduce child mortality during pregnancy, birth and through the postnatal period. To address the disease burden in Kenya, a USAID funded -Kenya Integrated Water, Sanitation and hygiene (KIWASH) - project was designed to explore opportunities for integrating WASH and nutrition interventions through use of a safe hygiene kits distribution program to caregivers of children >2 years and expectant mothers.