NEWS: Access to clean water still a rare luxury

Monday, March 23, 2009 from the MONITOR ONLINE


Access to clean water still a rare luxury


SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST: Residents of Acherer village in Moroto District scramble for water with goats at a borehole.


Access to water is a basic right, yet it is a right denied to millions of Ugandans everyday.
With over 34 per cent of Ugandans having no access to clean water, the country is unlikely to meet its targets to provide clean water to its citizens in line with the UN Millennium Development Goal target of 100 per cent coverage by 2015.

MDG goal seven requires countries to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation through improved drinking water sources and sanitation facilities.

But figures from latest Value for Money Audit report by the Auditor General on the distribution of water to urban areas by the National Water and Sewerage Corporation says that although there is a 70 per cent access of clean water to urban areas, there is still a high concentration of people living in these areas who do not have access to clean water.

“Supply of clean drinking water is estimated to have risen from an average of 54 per cent in 2002 to 70 per cent in 2006 against the national target of 100 per cent set by the National Water Policy by the year 2000 in urban areas,’’ the report reads in part.

And as the population grows, water scarcity is likely to increase, and as the AGs report points out that with urban populations growing at a faster rate than water supply in the major towns of Uganda, there has been an outcry from potential water customers who expect water services, while those already connected to the system spend long periods without water.

Another report by the Anti-corruption Coalition of Uganda, an anti corruption watchdog, puts national water coverage at just 63 per cent.

It says that although the water sector is one of the highly funded sectors by both government and donors, clean water coverage is still a luxury to many Ugandans, especially in the rural areas and districts affected by conflict in the east and northern region.

ACCU’s findings are supported by similar statistics from the Population Secretariat in its annual state of population report.

For example, the 2008 report indicates huge disparities still exist in water converge throughout the country, ranging from 12 per cent in the least served district of Kaboong to 95 per cent converge in Kabale.

According to the report, the 10 least covered districts with protected drinking water, with coverage of less than 40 per cent are Kaboong, Yumbe, Kotido, Isingiro, Kiruhura, Bugiri, Kisoro, Mayuge, Manafwa and Nakapiripirit. While Kabale, Kanungu, Rukungiri, Ntungamo, Bushenyi and Kamwenge are some of the districts with the highest water coverage in the country.

With lack of access to clean water comes poor sanitation coverage, standing at a low of 42 per cent for rural communities and 26 per cent for urban areas according to the 2008 Population report. The worst affected areas are slum dwellers, fishing community and displaced persons.

In the ACCU commissioned report on Public Expenditure Tracking Study carried out in October 2008, in eight districts of Kabarole, Koboko, Gulu, Bushenyi, Rakai, Soroti, Kamuli, and Mukono similar findings were unearthed.

Report findings indicate that of the eight districts studied, Koboko had the least water and sanitation coverage, followed by Gulu and Kamuli districts.Bushenyi District had the highest coverage among the districts studied.

The ACCU report says coverage and use of safe and clean water is still affected by poor community behaviour in upholding good sanitation measures.

“In Koboko and Gulu, some communities are yet to appreciate the importance of using safe and clean water. In Koboko District for example, the use of existing water facilities is still poor. People prefer to use nearby dirty water than walk a distance to draw clean water from a protected source,’’ the report says.

Sanitations conditions, the report says is particularly dire during the rainy season when swamps are full.This, it adds, explains the frequent outbreak of water borne diseases like Cholera and diarrhea.

On the contrary, the report says that sanitation and water coverage for Rakai District is affected by long dry spells.

Despite the fact that water coverage is 68% slight above the national average, some communities walk up to 10 kilometers in such for safe and clean water.’’