The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Arua, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | At least 25 percent of the households in Arua City still practice open defecation, putting the lives of many at risk of contracting poor sanitation-related infections.
Alfred Amandu, the Acting Principal Health Officer in charge of environmental health, revealed this on Monday as the country continues to commemorate sanitation week.
Every 15th to 21 of March, Uganda joins the rest of the world to commemorate Sanitation Week, to highlight the importance of hygiene and sanitation as one of the major positive livelihood practices for communities, to enhance human development and the social well-being of the population.
It is also an awareness campaign to raise the profile of sanitation and hygiene as one of the disease-prevention initiatives in the country. The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 of “Good Health and Well Being” stresses the need for good sanitation and easy access to health services for all, hence, universal access to good sanitation is key to all Ugandans.
However, Amandu revealed that because of the open defecation, 75 percent of the people who seek medical services at various health centres in the city suffer from illnesses linked to poor sanitation and hygiene.
Some of the common illnesses that result from poor disposal of human waste are diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid, polio, and hepatitis E, among others.
In 2023, Uganda faced a significant cholera outbreak, with thousands affected in areas where open defecation is prevalent.
Diarrhoea alone accounts for approximately 10% of all under-five deaths in Uganda, with poor sanitation being a major contributing factor, according to WHO.
Although there are public toilets, Amandu said many people still use polythene bags to ease themselves and later dispose of them carelessly.
He urged owners and managers of public places such as petrol stations, hotels, and banks, to ensure that they provide toilet facilities for their clients.
The World Health Organization, WHO, reinforces the safe disposal of human waste as one of the key measures to reduce diarrheal disease transmission.
According to WHO standards, basic sanitation means improved toilet facilities including flush toilets, VIP latrines, covered pit latrines with a slab, and Ecosan, which is not shared with any other household.
Amandu recommends that even though each household is required to have its toilet facilities, those without should share, instead of disposing of fecal matter irresponsibly in public.
Under the Public Health Act, it is the mandate of every household to have a latrine. However, Amandu said the enforcement is still low.
According to the 2024 National Housing and Population Census, 9.6% of households in the West Nile sub-region do not have a toilet facility.
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