According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), this year’s event is primarily aimed at reenergising nations into more hand-washing as one of the most effective ways of fighting off raging COVID-19 pandemic.
” Infection prevention and control, including hand hygiene, is critical to achieve UHC(Universal health coverage) as it is a practical and evidence-based approach with demonstrated impact on quality of care and patient safety across all levels of the health system,” says the WHO on its website.
Though Uganda, in partnership with scores of development partners, has invested heavily in water supply for various uses including hand-washing, under the water sanitation and hygiene (WASH), water supply remains a challenge to some districts Uganda.
A glance at Isingiro, Kasese, Bundibugyo and Ntoroko, indicates that natural disasters, financial constrains, population increases and negative mindsets are among some of the factors frustrating adherence to the water supply.
This is despite heavy investments from Government and agencies like Malteser International, .who support Water, sanitation and hygiene in the south western districts. According to Project Manager in charge of South-Western region, which covers the four districts, Malteser funds WASH intervention worth a 500,000Euro (over Sh2.07b. On October 15, Uganda joined other nations to commemorate this year’s global hand-washing day under the theme, “Our Future is at Hand – Let’s Move Forward Together.” A glance on Water Sanitation and Hygiene Services in the South Western Uganda By John B. Thawite Kasese: Kasese Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Samuel Ssenku Kimuli, lauds the Germanbased humanitarian agency for having saved lives from water-related risks after floods devastated nearly all the water sources in the districts.
He says the many interventions by Malteser included the erection of a water-purifying plant at Nkaiga Primary School, Maliba subcounty, from which the agency even supplied clean water to various internally displaced people (IDPs) in the district and some affected communities around the school. This was besides the provision of water storage containers, hundreds of cartons of soap, construction of temporary pit latrines and the establishment and training of a district-based emergency medical services (EMS) team. “Malteser has also invested heavily in repairing many of our water points but the recurrent floods have betrayed us,” regrets the DACO. According to the district senior planner, Joseph Singoma, the floods have crippled about 33 gravity flow water schemes (GFSs) and several health centres, disrupting WASH opportunities. But Isingoma notes that Malteser International disludged/empted 8 blocks of pit latrines at some of institutions that hosted the IPDs.
However Singoma notes that the displaced girls and women were finding it hard to adhere to WASH standards due to lack of segregated Some of the Isingiro WASH teams members during an inspection of the open defication-free model villages in Isingiro Practical and evidence based-approach has demonstrated Infection Prevention and control with Handwashing is critical to achieve Universal Health Coverage, World Health Organization. | 31 Wash Journal 2O21 toilet and bathing facilities in the current four camps hosting about 2,000 IDPs He also cites poor waste water disposal as another challenge in the camps urging partners to move in and support the district’s Sh54b post-disaster two-year recovery required budget. Raphaeline Katusabe, the Kasese district Assistant Water Engineer says the restoration of some water sources has saved around 815 households (about 4,890) from spending their money on buying water,” she says. But she says water coverage has declined to 57% partly due to the floods have partly changed the water quality and the decommissioning of some water plants, She also says only 25 (about 3.2%) of the 783 villages are open defication-free. “Most of our findings show that we are below the recommended WASH standards. She says much as district latrine coverage is at 79%, 74% and 98% at schools and health facilities respectively; hand-washing is at 35% at community level. This is despite the COVID-19 SOPs which emphasize regular hand-washing among others. “At first corona boosted hand-washing but now people have relaxed,” she says. According to a water supervisor at the district Asha Muhindo, adherence to WASH standards is still low because some communities still wash their clothes and kitchen utensils in rivers.
Katusabe adds that water quality remains one of the challenges because the district doesn’t have appropriate technology and reagents. However, according to the district budget framework paper, the district water sector budget increased from Sh1,405439,000 2019/2020 to Sh1,653,831,000 in the 2020/2021 financial year. Annet Luwambo, the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU), is the Project Officer of the Kasese-based NAWODU (National Women Organisation of Uganda). Raphiaelina Katusabe – Kasese Assistant Water Engineering Officer Annet Luwambo, the WASH Officer – National Union for Disabled persons of Uganda (NUDIPU) “We are concerned that some public facilities are not WASH-oriented and not special needssensitive,” she says. She cites the recently constructed Kasese main market in the heart of Kasese Municipality, which was commissioned by President Museveni earlier this year. Luwambo, whose organisation partnered with Malteser mainly to sensitise feloow Persons with disabilities (PWDS) and the community, complains some of the toilets in the market aren’t friendly to PWD. Initial plan was not disability friendly until I resist it and had it adjusted,” Peter Baluku, the Coordinator Kasese district Persons with Disabilities (KADUPEDI) says. He adds that ramps and some toilet provision were consequently adjusted. Supported by Malteser, NAWODU has supported WASH in and supplied face masks to RAP-CD (Rwenzori Association of Parents of Children with Disabilities. “We have been taught on hand-washing, sanitising and given face masks to safeguard our children and their parents from COVID-19,” says Mali Nehemiya Segunya, the RAP-CD administrator. some of the IPDs that Malteser has supported included the 19 households camped at Kasese Humanist School, Kasese Municipality where the humanitarian agency has repaired a tap stand, installed a fifty-litre hand-washing refillable water container, supplied basins, jerryicans and kitchen utensils. “Before that, we were fetching dirty water from River Nyamwamba or buy water at Sh100 when we could afford,” says Molly Saidaki, an elderly woman who hails from Mbarara and has been living in Kasese since she was a young girl but could not recall her age. A widow of a former Nyakasura School teacher, she is among the IDPs from Kyondo Ward of Nyamwamba Division where her house was washed away by Nyamwamba last year. “Malteser has done what government hasn’t done,” says the camp chairperson, Mustafa Kisuki, 60. Sh1,405,439,000 Sh1,653,831,000 2020/2021 2019/2020 The district water sector budget “We are concerned that some public facilities are not WASH-oriented and not special needs-sensitive,” she says annet Luwambo 32 | Wash Journal 2O21 Bundibugyo Bundibugyo has numerous rivers and streams that gush billions of water down the steep Mt Rwenzori terrain. Paradoxically, 37% of the population, projected at 224,387, doesn’t have access to clean water. Water coverage, according to the acting District Water Officer, Ismail Tusiime, has been dropping since 2016 due to the increasing population. “Our coverage has been declining since 2016 because it was then at 65%,” he says. He attributes the population explosion partly on the Kabarole-Bundibugyo road construction. “So the population has grown higher than the supply of water,” Says Tusiime. Lying on the footsteps of Mt Rwenzori, the district has water schemes which depend on the gravity water from the mountains in form of rivers, springs and streams from which most water supply systems have been tapped. “In total we have about twenty-six piped water schemes which serve majorly the lowland parts of the district where the water tapping is done. “This leaves the population in the mountain largely unserved with piped water. He, however, says, protected springs have been provides in some parts of the mountain highland areas. According to the district budget, the water department allocation dropped from Sh586,575,000 in 2019/2020 to Sh573,607,000 in 2020/2021 financial year. He also blames the inadequate water supply on low water quantities in some parts, citing Burondo subcounty neghbouring Ntoroko district.
“We have been struggling to find out in vain.” He adds that functionality of the available water resource systems has also dropped from Isingiro Whereas Isingiro district boast of close to 500 water sources, some 55% of the projected population of about 420,000 people, has no access to safe and clean water. Douglas Rweyeshera, an Engineering Assistant, says there are 455 ground water sources and 1,389 water-harvesting tanks of various categories and outputs. He says whenever a water sources is indentified private land, land owners are resistant to allow free excavation. “Yet as a district we don’t have enough money to compensate the landowner,” says Rweyeshera, adding that some politicians have de-campaigned the Sh90,000 annual operation and maintenance fee the communities are supposed to pay. “When we the communities to pay, some political block the process, telling the residents that water is free,” laments Rweyeshera. He also says that some communities vandalise the water infrastructure either out malice or to go sell the parts to metal scrap factory in Mbarara City. According to the district budget estimates contained in the district budget framework paper, the water budget of about Sh2,707b in the 2019/2020 financial year declined to Sh2.450,390,000 in 2020/2021 The district hosts many humanitarian agencies, especially because of the presence of the 61-year-old 61Nakivale Refugee Settlement. Ntoroko When Lake Albert flooded in April 2019, it submerged Ntoroko Parish of displacing over 300 residents, entering an extra wash burden on the already water-stressed administration. “If it weren’t for the quick intervention of Malteser, there would have been a disease outbreak,” says the Town Council LC III chairperson Sylvester Kiiza. Malteser-supported WASH activities there are also implemented by CAFOMI. CAFOMI project officer, Janan Luwum, says the IDPS depended on the water from the lake. CAFOMI has installed water tanks, handwashing facilities, and embarked on mobilisation against COVID-19. between 85 and 90% in 2019 to 62% in 2021.
