Uganda losing Shs30b to poor hygiene annually

Good hygiene practices can be as simple as washing your hands after visiting toilets, before eating and after cleaning a baby’s bottom. However, many Ugandans do not do this, says Julian Kyomuhangi, the Assistant Commissioner for Environmental Health division, Ministry of Health.
Kyomuhangi, under whose docket sanitation falls, made these remarks at a three-day international conference on Water and Sanitation in Kampala recently.

She said the poor hygiene and sanitation culture in Uganda is solely responsible for 75 per cent of the sanitation-related but preventable diseases affecting Ugandans.
“As a result, we are losing shs30b on treatment of sanitation and hygiene-related diseases annually alone. The cost is higher if we computed lost time as well as morbidity,” she said.

Low latrine coverage
Daudi Mukama, the Sanitation Coordinator at the Ministry of Water and Environment, said the latrine coverage remains low especially in rural areas.
“In schools, the pupil - latrine stance ratio has improved from 100 to 1 in 2000 to 70 per one stance in 2013 although this is still way higher than the targeted 40 to one,” he said.

Mukama also appealed to government and individuals to approach sanitation issues by tackling attitudes and creating awareness on hygiene issues because it’s effects does not only affect individuals but the entire neighbourhood.
“Other poor hygiene practices like improper disposal of refuse and waste water results in pollution of the environment as well as contamination of water which when used for domestic purposes, lead to diseases such as typhoid and Cholera.”

While officiating at the conference, the Minister for Health, Dr Ruhakana Ruganda, told delegates that there is a significant lacuna and lack of serious prioritisation on the side of government.
“As government, we need to do more, reenergise and prioritise sanitation issues and ensure that its takes its right place to be able to promote health and prevent disease,” he noted.
Dr Rugunda said that 47 per cent of diarrhoeal diseases and 30 per cent of respiratory infections are due to poor sanitation and that they can be reduced considerably by practicing simple hygiene practices such as hand washing.

Way forward
Other players at the conference proposed that public health and sanitation be put under an independent institution or Ministry so that they can be prioritised.

“Because hygiene and sanitation are small units under ministries of Health, Education, and the ministry of Water and Environment, they have remained under funded, hidden and not given required attention,” said Jane Nabunya, the Country Director at the International Water and Sanitation Centre.
Under the theme, “Unclogging the blockages in sanitation”, the conference has brought experts from Asia, Europe, North America and Africa to forge a way forward on addressing the sanitation challenges affecting mostly East and Southern Africa.