Govt unveils Shs19b project to stop open defecation

The Ministry of Health has launched a $5 million (about Shs19.4 billion) three-year project to address open defecation and poor sanitation in seven districts with poor health indicators.

At least eight percent of the population still practice open defecation and more than 60 percent need improved sanitation facilities such as toilets, according to information in the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey report released last week.

While launching the project in Kampala yesterday, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the Health minister, said: “The money is coming from the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund under the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) with a counterpart funding of $1.5 million (about Shs5.8billion) from the Ugandan government.”

The project was launched along with this year’s Sanitation Week theme: “Sanitation and hygiene for all: A key to sustainable healthy living.”

“On a good note, this year’s sanitation week seeks to highlight the relevance of sanitation and hygiene regarding enhancing human development and the social well-being of the population,” she said.

 This, Dr Aceng said, seeks to empower communities across the country to recognise their primary role in maintaining their health and that of their communities by actively participating in interventions aimed at promoting and maintaining a clean and healthy environment.

 “The launch of this year’s sanitation week is special as we also officially unveil the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund project. This is a three-year project being implemented in seven districts of Buikwe, Buyende, Kabarole, Kamuli, Kayunga, Luuka and Kole, targeting 2,351,440 people,” she said.

 The Commissioner of Environmental Health, Dr Herbert Nabaasa, told this publication that more than 500 toilets will be constructed through this project. He said the project aims to increase demand creation by engaging communities so that they can invest on their own.

“We shall also do results-based financing where people will be given incentives for performance improvement and building toilets for some communities. We shall be building a national coordination mechanism and policy. We will be building in the seven districts more than 500 toilets,” Dr Nabaasa said, adding: “They were selected from districts with very poor coverage in the Busoga area and some in the East [part of the country]. We also consider affordability but where the coverage is low [was prioritised].”

In her remarks, Dr Aceng also applauded the Government of the Netherlands and the Government of Switzerland for the “catalytic financing for expanding the Country's investment potential in sanitation and hygiene.”

 The UNICEF Representative to Uganda, Dr Munir Safieldin, who represented development partners at the launch in Kampala, said they would continue to support Uganda’s efforts in tackling gaps in sanitation and hygiene.

“UNICEF takes great pride in its commitment to supporting systems strengthening, especially through collaboration with the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders. We have played a pivotal role in the development of critical frameworks, such as the National Open Defecation Free Roadmap,” he said.

 “These initiatives have translated into tangible improvement in service delivery, positively impacting communities across Uganda. In 2023 alone, with UNICEF support, 70 schools and health facilities benefited from climate resilient infrastructure while over 800 communities achieved open defecation-free status in key regions of the country,” he added.