Poor sanitation costs Uganda shs 389 billion annually

WEDNESDAY, 18 APRIL 2012 07:13 BY RUKIYA MAKUMA According to the new report released by the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program on April 17, Uganda loses 389 billion Ugandan shillings each year due to poor sanitation.  Findings in the Economic Impacts of Poor Sanitation in Africa report - Uganda, show that the 84 percent of the costs come from the annual premature death and about 90 percent of the deaths are as a result of poor water, sanitation, and hygiene. “We’ve known for some time about the impact of poor sanitation on health, but this is one of the first studies to quantify the annual costs incurred because of poor sanitation,” said Yolande Coombes, the Senior Water and Sanitation Specialist with WSP. “Uganda will not be able to grow sustainably without addressing these costs.” "Water and sanitation go hand-in-hand with human dignity.  Our study finds that the heaviest burden of poor sanitation falls on poor people," says Jamal Saghir, World Bank Director for Sustainable Development in the Africa Region.  "These findings make an irresistible case for greater investment in sanitation while removing the barriers to better sanitation services. Now is the time to tackle this urgent development priority once and for all.” According to the findings in the report, open defecation costs Uganda USD$41 million yet eliminating the practice would require less than 650,000 latrines to be built and used.

Posted on May 25, 2012 by dietvorst | 2 Comments

Forming associations for hand pump mechanics in Uganda has enhanced the services they provide and ultimately improved functionality, a new study [1] shows.   One such association in Kabong district succeeded in improving functionality of water sources from 20% in 2006 to 96% in 2010.

A 2011 study on the effectiveness of community-managed rural water systems revealed that just 53% were fully functional. With a coverage rate of 65% this implies that  only  about a third of the rural population of Uganda has reliable access to safe drinking water.

Hand Pump Mechanics Associations (HPMAs) have been in existence in Uganda for several years but were under-performing, partly because they were not formalised. In 2007, SNV  Netherlands Development Organisation developed guidelines to improve HPMA performance.

Now the government, through the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE), and its development partners have decided to set up HPMAs in all districts in Uganda. They have set a target to set up hand pump mechanics /scheme attendants associations in 80% of the districts in FY 2011/12, and operationalise them in at least 30% of districts by FY 2012/13 [2].

Members of the Lira District Hand Pump Mechanics Association undergo refresher training, January 2012. Photo: IRC/Triple-S

While the Ministry and its partners are now rolling out awareness raising and capacity building programmes for  HPMAs, several concerns have been raised. One is about their legal status. The Functionality Working Group, which was set up by the MWE,  recommends that HPMAs first register as Community Based Organisations (CBOs) as required by the Ministry but that they would also need to allowed to undertake commercial activities to ensure their sustainability.

IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre/Sustainable Services as Scale (Triple‐S) is supporting the secretariat of Functionality Working Group.

[1] IRC and SNV, 2012. Hand Pump Mechanics Associations : improving rural water service delivery. (Triple-S briefing note). The Hague, The Netherlands: IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre/Sustainable Services as Scale (Triple‐S). Available at: <http://bit.ly/KTkKzH>

[2] MWE, 2011. Water and environment sector : the third Joint Government of Uganda –Development Partners Sector Review 2011 : agreed minutes : 11th – 13th October 2011, Kampala. Kampala, Uganda: Ministry of Water and Environment. Available at: <http://bit.ly/KTldlw>

Related news: Uganda: associations of pump mechanics help improve functioning of handpumps, E-Source, 14 Dec 2010

Related web sites:

• Uganda – Ministry of Water and Environment
• IRC – Uganda Triple-S initiative
• RWSN – Sustainable Rural Water Supplies

Source: Hand Pump Mechanics Associations: actualising the dream, IRC-Triple-S/Water Services that Last/, May 2012

Urban Water and Sanitation: Who cares about Poor?

 K N Vajpai on March 23, 2011 at 13:05

The city development planning and judicious resource allocation in most of the cities in South Asian countries is a big challenge.  Among the basic amenities, water and sanitation remained the core concern that lead to health problems, livelihood losses and an impediment to economic growth.  Given the population growth and rapid migration from rural to urban areas, the cities are swelling at an unprecedented rate, while resources are limited in terms of land, water, forest and basic amenities.

The cities in South Asia have grown rapidly in terms of their population sizes, but not proportionately in terms of quality of urban services and facilities. When we take example of India; in term of services, no Indian city provides water 24/7, only half the population has access to safe drinking water, and less than a third has access to sanitation.

The land prices have gone up; the poor are confronted with affordability of shelter, which ultimately forces them to live in unauthorized localities, which we generally call ‘slums’ or ‘unauthorized’ colonies. They in one way are synonymous to ‘No-man’s Land’, and survive on the mercy of  local authorities (e.g. municipality) to recognize them (in their city planning process) or throw them out overnight, for a new project or township. These colonies are extremely unhygienic, filth ridden and are ones nightmare to live. There, you will not find basic services and civic amenities, and in case someone gets that, is a different story altogether.

Let me further quote example from India, where it is estimated that over the next 40 years India will experience one of the most dramatic settlement transitions in history, as its urban population grows from about 300 million to more than 700 million. The public services fall short, largely because, they have little or no accountability to the ultimate client, and outdated management systems are unable to provide the information needed for decision-making.  Similarly, the municipal solid waste and sewage generation in Indian cities have significantly increased over the years from 6 million tons in 1947 to over 69 million tons in 2006, which is becoming a major environmental threat and hazard to the poor.

The integrated city developmental plans related to shelter, basic services, civic amenities like water, sanitation, education, health facilities are failing due to uncoordinated approaches and poor planning processes.   The City Development Planning processes are not guided by a comprehensive approach of planning and ensuring active participation of people. They are being developed in bits and pieces, where poor are further marginalized.

Given present situation, there is urgent need to devise appropriate city development planning processes by the governments in South Asia, those consider adequate provisions for basic services like water and sanitation among others. Without considering the inclusive planning process, there are chances that the ongoing efforts in city planning will not be sustainable. This may further pose serious climatic vulnerability among poor population living in the slums of urban areas in terms of increasing intensity of droughts, shortage of drinking water and increased in food and other commodity prices and related health hazards.

Need Behavior Change Towards Sanitation

Posted by Heeals on January 26, 2013 at 9:08

Sanitation is broad term refer to disposal and management of solid waste, waste water human and cattle excreta etc. In such a way that is does not affect adversely domestic personal hygiene. Sanitation is very important for human health. It contribute to clean and improved environment, social development and generate significant economic benefits.

for complete article please visit :- http://heeals.blogspot.in/