Rural communities in Uganda have taken the initiative to collectively promote sustainable sanitation solutions for people without access to toilets of their own.
The call was made by Mr Moses Woira, the Kamuli Assistant Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), together with Mercy Giving, a Kamuli-based NGO, with funding from international partners worth Shs168m.
Mr Woira said that with 870 villages and 109,432 households, the district has struggled to provide 42 boreholes and a few public latrines due to the stringent budget.
“But when development partners like Mercy Giving come in to complement service delivery in the most critical area of community hygiene and sanitation, it is a big blessing and relief,” he noted.
Mr Woira said open defecation poses several health risks, including the spread of diseases such as diarrhoea, typhoid, hepatitis A and cholera, which spread quickly in congested communities.
“Open defecation is a health risk and the government is making efforts to provide safe water and improved sanitation. But we must collectively work on protection of the natural environment to mitigate climate change effects,” he said.
Ma Charity Musiime, the local representative of Demitrius Children Education Initiative, pointed out that in rural communities, women and children are at high risk.
Mr James Kibombo, the Busambo Zone chairperson, said last year, people almost lynched a food vendor in the trading centre, whom they falsely accused of poisoning her clients and they all got diarrhea; but it was later discovered that it was because of poor sanitation in the area.
“The diarrhoea story attracted concern from Mercy Giving which came and discovered how serious the latrine issue was here. They gave us sanitation counselling and now a public latrine, the first of its kind here,” he reported.
Mr Ammex Ssebidde, the Executive Director of Mercy Giving, disclosed that with funding assistance from Wilde Ganzen, the organization has been able to dig 67 community or public latrines although the demand is still very high.
“As a Community-Based Organisation, we not only build these toilets but also teach the communities personal hygiene and sustainability,” he said.
