The Ministry of Health has launched a fresh push to improve household hygiene and sanitation in Kenya, unveiling the ‘Epuka Uchafu Afya Nyumbani’ initiative in Kisumu County on Monday.
The campaign, led by the State Department for Public Health and Professional Standards, aims to instill a culture of cleanliness and health consciousness at the grassroots level as part of the country’s broader preventive healthcare strategy.
Representing the Ministry during the Kisumu rollout, Mr. Benjamin Murkomen, Head of Port Health Services, said the government is committed to scaling the initiative across all 47 counties, building on a successful launch in five pilot counties.
“This is more than just a campaign it’s a call to action for every household to take charge of their environment and health,” Murkomen said.
A Clean Home, A Healthy Nation
The Epuka Uchafu, Afya Nyumbani initiative, loosely translated as “Avoid Dirt, Health Begins at Home,” is a national behavior change campaign focused on sanitation, waste disposal, and environmental cleanliness.
Authorities say the project has the objective of enabling citizens to make long-term changes in how they look after habitation spaces starting from small, everyday practices like soap treatment and disposal of waste.
Murkomen stated that lasting impact would only come through participation between the national and county governments and with the support of community leaders and the active participation of residents
Facilitating Universal Health Coverage
The scheme is rightfully placed in accordance with the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) goals in Kenya, which emphasize a lot on preventive healthcare and promotion of community health.
Through an attack on the vulnerability of communicable diseases from within the family environment, the Ministry seeks to minimize the spread of such diseases, improve healthcare costs, and generally increase the well-being, especially in rural areas and slums where disease due to poor hygiene is a serious concern.
“Cleaner homes equal fewer trips to the hospital, healthier children, and healthier communities,” Murkomen noted, citing that the model could be replicated as a template for long-term public health nationwide.
With the initiative gaining momentum, residents of Kisumu and other counties are being called upon to take responsibility for their surroundings and make hygiene their personal duty.
