A/HRC/30/39/Add.2 V. Marginalized persons 70. In Kenya, as in other countries, the situation regarding access to water and sanitation varies depending on one’s location and on one’s economic status. The Special Rapporteur will analyse the situation of some of the groups she met with during her visit and who have particular difficulties in gaining access to water and sanitation. A. Persons living in rural areas 71. Despite general progress in access to water, inequalities in access to water in urban and rural areas are significant. The majority of the population of Kenya live in rural areas, and 23 per cent were still relying on surface water in 2012. While 44 per cent of people in urban areas have access to piped water, that percentage falls to 13 per cent in rural areas.24 72. The lack of access to water on premises means that people have to go out to collect it. In remote areas, water sources are far. In one very remote area in Turkana County, for instance, the distance to fetch water can be as long as 25 km. Water kiosks or other types of water vendors in rural areas are an acceptable interim solution, and they indeed improve the proximity to water sources in some areas. When waiting time at the water points is added, however, the total amount of time households spend on fetching water still tends to be significant. Also, as mentioned above, there is a systematic pattern of charging more to those who are not connected to the piped network or those living in remote areas. This disproportionately affects people living in remote areas and people living in poverty. 73. Access to sanitation is equally limited in urban and rural areas. Open defecation, however, is much more commonly practised in rural areas: 18 per cent of residents in rural areas engage in the practice, versus 2 per cent of the population in urban areas. It is particularly widespread in very remote areas. 74. In May 2011, the Ministry of Health, with support from UNICEF, launched the Open Defecation Free Rural Kenya 2013 campaign, employing the Community-Led Total Sanitation approach. The Special Rapporteur was pleased to see efforts made by the Government in the areas of Community-Led Total Sanitation and hygiene promotion advocacy. Access to information and hygiene education are essential to realize the human rights to water and sanitation. Under the campaign, of a total of 59,915 villages in Kenya, 9,126 (15 per cent) have been engaged with open defecation free processes, and 3,956 (7 per cent, or 45 per cent of the engaged villages) have pronounced themselves open defecation free. The Special Rapporteur visited an open defecation free village in Turkana County. She was impressed by the practical and simple toilets and the commitment made by villagers, although she also witnessed some evidence of continued open defecation practices by some, including children. There is still a long way to go to end open defecation and to achieve universal access to sanitation in Kenya. Political commitment needs to be supported by necessary budgets. The Government needs to revisit its allocation of budget and must prioritize support to realize access to basic sanitation. B. Persons living in informal settlements 75. In urban areas, the situation in informal settlements continues to be particularly worrying. Urban informal settlements have been excluded from urban policies and planning by the Government for a long time, and this neglect has left people in extreme hardship. 24 WHO and UNICEF, Progress on Drinking Water. 17