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Ntungamo authorities raise concern over open defecation
What you need to know:
Open defecation results into typhoid, cholera, intestinal infections, diarrhoea, trachoma, hepatitis, respiratory diseases and tuberculosis.
Authorities in Ntungamo Municipality have raised concern over the increasing open defecation, which is putting the population at risk of contracting communicable diseases.
The area leaders during a cleaning exercise recently said faecal material is being littered on streets and drainage channels.
“This is a very big challenge, people are littering streets with faeces, it’s unfortunate and you know what can come out of this, diseases and other infections,” the assistant town clerk eastern division, Mr Charles Najuna, said.
Sensitisation
Mr Najuna said they were going to embark on sensitisation of all people to see that the vice stops.
‘‘It’s unfortunate that the people do it at night but we shall put on heavy fines for anyone found,’’ he said.
He said the authorities are also going to assess the toilet coverage in the municipality to establish if the vice is partly as a result of lack of toilets.
Mr Apollo Mukasa, the chairperson Cell 5 in Muko ward western division, said they have tried to get the people soiling streets with human waste but have failed on numerous attempts.
“I think my cell is the most affected. We need more financing to get the culprits, we also need to sensitise the communities more,” Mr Mukasa said.
The mayor, Mr Jacob Kafureka, however, said the vice is not as serious as it is being projected. He said it’s a moral issue that can only be fought by sensitising communities.
“There are many people who are not morally upright, I don’t think we should treat this as a big challenge, we have drunkards, lunatics and other vagabonds, I think they are the ones who dump the waste on streets. We shall sensitise the people more,” Mr Kafureka said.
Officiating at the cleaning exercise, the parish priest Sacred Heart Catholic Parish Ntungamo, Rev Fr Richard Denis Sebugwawo, said municipal authorities should not concentrate only on cleaning streets but also ensure sanitation in homes and institutions.
The municipal health officer, Dr James Ndyanabo, said the general sanitation situation in the town has improved but a lot needs to be done at household level.
He said most restaurant owners cook from verandas and the food handlers do not meet required health standards.
Consequence
Open defecation results into typhoid, cholera, intestinal infections, diarrhoea, trachoma, hepatitis, respiratory diseases and tuberculosis.
Reasons why a person openly defecates, according to researchgate.net, include lack of awareness, non-availability of toilets, toilets being dark, grimy and having bad smell, and toilets being some distance away hence fear to get there at night.
