95% health workers in Kampala don’t wash hands - report
The study notes that 65 per cent of the healthcare providers did not wash hands because they had no soap while 41 per cent was due to absence of water in their facilities
A study has revealed that 95.6 per cent of the staff in healthcare facilities (HCF) in the greater Kampala Metropolitan areas do not wash their hands during work.
The study conducted by WaterAid between last November and July this year showed that 44 of 46 healthcare providers sampled from 63 facilities in and around Kampala said they do not wash their hands in the course of work.
Launching the report on Thursday at the Ministry of Health Vector Control office in Kampala, the WaterAid country director, Ms Jane Sembuche, said the report was to establish the status of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in the healthcare facilities in Kampala.
The study notes that 65 per cent of the healthcare providers did not wash hands because they had no soap while 41 per cent was due to absence of water in their facilities.
It was also revealed that 40 per cent of healthcare facilities had limited access to limited waste management, leaving 60 per cent prone to infections due to poor sanitation.
Col Felix Kulayigye, a Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) representatives in Parliament, said: “The findings of the report are correct but alarming. If these are the findings in Kampala and surrounding areas then it is worse in rural areas.” Col Kulayigye faulted the ill sanitation on the poor habits of some health workers and called for tough sanctions against such persons.
The study also found that 78 per cent of the HCFs rely on piped water, 17 per cent depend on rain water, 3 per cent from protected dug well while one per cent used water from borehole and tank.
“I am concerned that 78 per cent of HCF within this greater Kampala are the only ones using piped water. It is not good news that 22 per cent have to use water from wells, boreholes and rain water and that is extremely bad,” Mr David Kateeba of the Uganda Sanitation Fund said.
Background
The study was jointly conducted by Makerere University School of Public Health, Emory University, and WaterAid Uganda with technical assistance from the Ministry of Health. It was conducted in 63 health facilities providing maternal and childcare services. Of these 33 per cent (21/63) selected from Kampala, 69.8 per cent (44/63) were at the level of Health Centre III and 60.3 per cent (38/63) were government-owned.
