Dr Richard Abila, Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute assistant director, says lack of a sewerage system in the fast expanding slums has exposed Lake Victoria’s riparian communities to diseases.

"Of the 14 districts that form the Luo-Nyanza region, only beaches within Kisumu Municipality have partly functioning sewerage systems," says Abila. But a water engineer says Kisumu cannot be given a clean bill of health, arguing that the more than 40-year- old sewerage system in the town is overstretched.

Mr David Onyango, Kisumu Water and Sewerage Company managing director, says the system was built in 1966, and initially meant to serve 150,000 people and has not been expanded to match the population that is in excess of 500,000.

The experts raised the red flag over the repercussions of unchecked slums during a ceremony organised by the United Nations to mark 2008 as the Year of Sanitation in Kisumu last week. They said insufficient number of latrines at the 320 fish landing beaches on the Kenyan side of the lake poses a major threat to thousands of households.

Similar disaster looms in Mwanza, Tanzania, where an influx people into the beaches has been reported. Medics caution of water borne diseases such as cholera, dysentery, typhoid, meningitis, worms and skin infections and bilharzia as people scramble for space on the shores of the lake. UN statistics indicate that the dilemma does not only affect the Lake Victoria Basin, but also 37 per cent of Sub-Saharan Africa where access to basic sanitation is wanting.

Experts warn of dire consequences if riverine and seasonal wetlands near the beaches are turned into residential areas. Until recently, the lake was home to more than 500 species of fish. Now, more than 60 per cent have disappeared due to environmental pollution and destruction. Nevertheless, more than 33 million East Africans depend on the lake, directly and indirectly.

Enter your body text here.