Kitgum Municipality has registered some progress in improving sanitation infrastructure and hygiene practices one year into a two-year sanitation project funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), with leaders now calling for extension of the programme beyond its scheduled end in 2027.
The project, implemented by Water for People in partnership with Kitgum District Local Government, Kitgum Municipality, Amuru District Local Government, Pabbo Town Council and several government ministries, aims to improve sanitation services for an estimated 39,280 people through the construction of household and school latrines, sanitation promotion and strengthening municipal waste management systems.
Presenting the project’s mid-term progress, Dr. Denis Omoya Ocula, the Principal health Officer of Kitgum Municipality, said baseline findings had revealed major sanitation challenges, including that 83.3 percent of households had never emptied their pit latrines, only 26 percent of fecal sludge was safely managed, while more than 70 percent of household latrines had unlined pits.
Dr. Ocula says the assessment also found that 66.7 percent of households were willing to pay for pit-emptying services despite limited access to such services.
According to Dr. Ocula, the project has so far supported the construction of 31 new household latrine stances, upgraded 14 existing facilities and has another 30 under construction as part of efforts to increase access to improved sanitation.
Water for People Uganda Country Director Brenda Aciro describes the first year of implementation as encouraging, saying the programme had already produced measurable results.
Kitgum Municipality Mayor Richard Ojara Okwera applauds the Austrian Development Agency and Water for People for what he describes as a transformative intervention but urges the partners to extend the programme after its expiry in August 2027.
By URN
Leave a Reply