NAIROBI, Kenya — Hospitals across Kenya are stepping up hand hygiene education for mothers and caregivers amid growing concern over limited access to basic handwashing facilities, a challenge health experts say continues to expose children to preventable diseases.
The initiative, being implemented through a partnership between the Kenya Progressive Nurses Association (KPNA) and Pwani Oil Products, is targeting maternity and paediatric wards in hospitals across the country to promote proper handwashing practices among new mothers.
The campaign has so far reached 45 hospitals and aims to expand to 80 health facilities by the end of the year, with more than 1,200 mothers and children expected to benefit during the current phase.
According to the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme, more than four in every ten Kenyans still lack basic handwashing facilities with soap and water at home, highlighting persistent gaps in household hygiene despite years of public health campaigns.
Health experts say inadequate hand hygiene remains one of the leading contributors to diarrhoeal diseases and other infections, particularly among children under the age of five.
Kenya Progressive Nurses Association Secretary General Triza Ireri said maternity and paediatric wards provide an important opportunity to educate caregivers when they are most focused on protecting the health of newborns and young children.
“Our nurses treat the consequences of poor hand hygiene every day, yet many of these illnesses can be prevented through simple practices such as washing hands with soap. Reaching mothers before they leave hospital gives them knowledge they can immediately apply at home,” Ireri said.
The education sessions are conducted by nurses in maternity and paediatric wards, where caregivers receive practical demonstrations on proper handwashing and infection prevention.
Kenyatta National Hospital’s Acting Head of the Infection Prevention and Control Unit, Jemima Katama, said preventing infections requires extending health education beyond healthcare facilities and into homes and communities.
“Infection prevention cannot stop at the hospital gate. The knowledge caregivers gain while in hospital helps protect not only newborns but entire families once they return home,” Katama said.
The World Health Organization identifies diarrhoeal diseases—many of which can be prevented through proper hand hygiene—as one of the leading causes of death among children under five globally.
Public health experts have increasingly called for greater investment in hygiene education alongside improvements in water, sanitation and access to affordable hygiene products, arguing that preventive interventions remain among the most cost-effective ways of reducing childhood illnesses and easing pressure on healthcare systems.
The initiative reflects growing efforts by healthcare professionals and private sector partners to strengthen preventive healthcare by promoting simple hygiene practices that can significantly reduce the spread of infectious diseases.
