Uganda, Kamuli District: sanitation campaign succeeds in raising latrine coverage

The pit-latrine coverage in Kamuli district has increased from 46% to 76% in the past two years, the district health department [Alex Mulindwa] said [...] Mulindwa said they launched a campaign to encourage people to construct pit-latrines in 2006.

He added that they used radios and patrols to mobilise the residents. The campaign was funded by the water department. Mulindwa said at the beginning of the campaign, some villages had no pit-latrines and residents would relieve themselves in the bushes.

“Bulungu village in Namwendwa sub-county had no pit-latrine and the residents had turned anthills into latrines,” Mulindwa noted. The district health educator, David Mbadhwe, said the district council passed a resolution under which a punishment of six months jail term was imposed on those who did not have pit-latrines. Mulindwa said they targeted having pit-latrine coverage of 90% by 2010.

Source: Tom Gwebayanga, New Vision / allAfrica.com, 18 May 2009

Uganda, Kampala: schools to get water and sanitation project

RUBAGA, Kawempe and Makindye divisions are to benefit from a sh2b [US$ 900,000) water and sanitation project that targets garbage collection and maintenance of hygiene in schools. The one-year project will target primary schools in the divisions. Already, sh100m [US$ 45,000) has been put aside for ventilated pit-latrines, hand-washing equipment and water tanks. [...] The Community Integrated Development Initiative will implement the project in collaboration with Kampala City Council.

The project coordinator, Teo Namata, said a survey in the city divisions showed that the sanitation in schools was appalling as the majority lacked latrines. “In one of the schools, we found 900 pupils and only two latrines for all the pupils,” Namata said. She said teachers and pupils will also be trained on how to operate the facilities given to the schools. The school project involves rain water harvesting programmes. Schools will also be given water tanks for tapping water. A total of 3,610 students and teachers are expected to benefit from the hygiene education component.

Source: Juliet Waiswa, New Vision / allAfrica.com, 12 May 2009

Uganda: Toilet Emptying Needs Investors

THERE are investment opportunities in emptying of pit latrines in Kampala and other urban areas, the World Bank‘s senior water and sanitation specialist has observed. “The bank carried out a study in Kampala and found that Kampala residents generate 800,000 litres of feaces per day (800 cubic meters) but the capacity to empty and dispose them of is only 230.000 litres,” Samuel Dawuna Mutono explained.

“This means more local people can invest in emptying pit latrines but the biggest challenge we discovered is that most of these toilets are not accessible, while some people are too poor to pay for the service,” he said. Mutono said only 8% of the country’s population is connected to the sewage system. “So how about the 92%? That is why the bank has supported this business linkage programme aimed at training members of the private emptiers association to improve their services.”

This was at the signing of a memorandum of understanding for a business linkage programme between the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), Enterprise Uganda and the Private Emptiers Association at the Kampala Serena Hotel.

[...] “SMEs [small and medium enterprises] lack documented long-term visions, strategic business plans, adequate capitalisation, while others are involved in unscrupulous practices and have poor customer care,” Enterprise Uganda’s director of business advisory services, Rosemary Mutyabule said. “That is why the association will benefit much from the training,” Mutyabule said. 

Source: David Muwanga, New Vision / allAfrica.com, 25 May 2009

Botswana – BCP candidate targets pit latrines in Gaborone

Botswana Congress Party (BCP) parliamentary aspirant for Gaborone West South, Abbey Chengeta has vowed to tackle the problem of pit latrines in SHHA areas of the constituency.

Speaking at his launch over the weekend, Chengeta said that it was disheartening that the Gaborone City Council (GCC) and the Ministry of Wildlife, Environment and Tourism has failed to come up with a solution to phase out pit latrines in Gaborone West.

Chengeta said that Botsalo Ntuane the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Specially Elected MP, who is standing for elections in the area and the incumbent legislator Robert Molefhabagwe of the Botswana National Front (BNF) have failed to speak out about the problem of pit latrines in Parliament. “Ntuane and Molefhabangwe have to come to the people and explain what they have been doing since 2004,” said Chengeta. He added that pit latrines are a health hazard and must be phased out urgently.

Chengeta accused the ruling party of terrorising street vendors because it is ashamed of them.

“What is embarrassing about being a street vendor?,” he asked. He suggested that government should consider building stalls for street vendors because they contribute to the country’s economy as part of the informal sector.

The BCP secretary general, Taolo Lucas who was launching Chengeta and council candidates urged residents of Gaborone West South not to vote for Ntuane as BDP members are not allowed to speak freely against the government. “There is no use in voting a BDP MP,” said Lucas.

He said the BDP leadership has targeted Parliament and now it has its eyes on the media. He cited the controversial Media Practitioners’ Act. Lucas complained that the state TV station has been turned into a BDP campaign tool because every week, it features President Ian Khama and Vice President Mompati Merafhe launching party candidates.

Lucas applauded Chengeta for joining BCP after he retired from Bank of Botswana. He said Chengeta has made a big sacrifice compared to other top civil servants whom he labelled opportunists who join the BDP for person gain.

Lucas acknowledged that although the BCP did not command a lot of support in the constituency, the people must stand up and help it win elections. “If a party is able to manage itself well you have to stand up and help it,” he said.

Speaking at the rally, Gaborone Central MP Dumelang Sashando attacked BNF stating that the party was not fit to participate in the upcoming general elections because it is still busy with internal fighting.

Saleshando said that while the BCP was launching its candidates, the BNF is still waiting for the High Court to declare who the party’s election candidates are. He said the BNF history is basically about internal fighting. He said that unlike the BDP and BNF, his party has written policies that to be implemented once it assumes state power. He said the BDP is run through Khama’s four Ds while the BNF is still boasting about Pamphlet No.1 which talks about the Cold War.

Source – Mmegi Online

Toilet technology flipbook

WaterAid has produced a low cost toilet technology flipbook that lets you find out about the advantages and disadvantages of a range of latrine technologies. The resource is based on the 2004 publication called Low cost toilet options, which was put together by Social Marketing for Urban Sanitation, a research project funded by DFID, to help house owners in low-income urban communities choose an appropriate low-cost toilet. The drawings were produced by WEDC, Water Engineering Development Centre.

The flipbook allows you to mix and match the three toilet components: superstructure, slab and pit or vault. For each correct combination total costs are calculated. Both pit latrine and ecosan models are used. WaterAid plans to plans to update the flipbook.

Check out the flipbook here.

Uganda: Schools Without Pit Latrines Will Not Open for First Term

Education officials in Nyadri district have said schools with dilapidated pit-latrines will not open for the first term.The district inspector of schools, Flavia Droti, said six schools had so far been identified and they would only open after new latrines had been constructed. The first term starts on February 2, [2009].

Droti [...] said: “A report by inspectors of schools suggested that the state of pit latrines in most primary schools was wanting. Most of the latrines were in a dangerous condition and need to either be replaced or repaired.” Droti was responding to a statement by the district council chairman, Viga Kanon, calling for the situation to be rectified so that pupils report for next term on time.

[...] Kanon noted that Epa Primary School which has the highest enrolment, needs at least two new five-stance VIP latrines for both the pupils and teachers. He said the old pit-latrines would either collapse or sink because of the torrential rains that began in August [2008].

Source: Richard Adrama, New Vision / allAfrica.com, 25 Jan 2009

Kyrgyzstan: Safe and Sustainable – New Sanitation System

An international conference on Ecological Safety, held [in November 2008] in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, called attention to a dangerous sanitation issue by offering an inspiring and feasible solution.

The problem: international donors are still promoting pit latrines, says Dr. Claudia Wendland of Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF), but most families can’t afford to pay for safe emptying of the pits. In humid climates like those found in Central Asia, Caucasus and Eastern Europe, the latrines can become dangerous as a result, [and] often [pollute] groundwater.

[...] According to Sascha Gabizon, executive director of WCEF, dry or low-flush urine diverting toilets, combined with natural filtration ponds to purify grey water from sinks and showers, is a much safer sanitation system that can be implemented at a cost similar to that of the latrines.

The 200 participants of the conference were invited to visit 3 demonstration projects showing how wastewater from kitchens and bathrooms was efficiently cleaned using a “soil filter,” a sealed pond in which sand and plants clean the wastewater to achieve the quality of bathing water, The participants also visited 2 different types of dry urine diverting toilets. The cost of the toilets vary between 200 and 450 Euro, including a wash facility and light, this is much cheaper than having to build a flush-toilet and connecting to a sewage system [...]. The cost of the soil filter for 5 people amounts to about 950 euro, also less expensive than connecting to a sewage system.

Gabizon says the WCEF strategy is to first demonstrate the new sustainable sanitation systems “in a variety of small and large scale applications, from households to schools to entire villages.”

See also the WECF project profile of “Kyrgyzstan – Decentralised and sustainable wastewater management”

Source: Julia Levitt, Worldchanging, 21 Nov 2008

Uganda: Kayunga leaders arrested over latrines

ABOUT 26 people, one of them a sub-county councillor and four LC1 officials, have been arrested for lack of pit latrines [and taken to court]. This follows [an] operation by the Police led by the Kayunga sub-county health inspector, Abasa Kaneha.

[...] Most of the residents did not have pit latrines and many, including the NRM chairman for Nakaseeta parish, Andrew Kalyango fled, Kaneha said. “We will arrest anybody irrespective of which leadership position they hold. We plan to cover the entire sub-country,” he said.

Kaneha said the operation was meant to ensure that the cholera outbreak that was reported in Kayunga town would not spread to the villages.

Source: Charles Jjuuko, New Vision, 30 Nov 2008

Ghana: Plan Ghana Assists Five Communities With Toilet Facilities

In Bawjiase in the Central Region, Plan Ghana, is assisting five communities to construct improved household pit latrines. A total of twenty-seven toilets that have so far been completed, were inaugurated at Obo Yambo and Aboano, two of the beneficiary communities. The facilities were built with local materials under the supervision of the Professional Network Association (ProNet), an NGO based in Accra. Labour services were provided by the community. The project, the first in the area, is a six-month pilot project.

Read more about Plan International’s water and sanitation activities here.

Read more about water and sanitation in Ghana here.

Source: Accra Mail, 30 Oct 2008

Uganda: Latrine Crackdown in Pallisa District

HEALTH officials in Pallisa district have launched a crackdown on family heads whose homes have no pit-latrines and rubbish disposal pits.

The move, said Wilson Namungha, the district health inspector, was prompted by the recent cholera outbreak in the area that killed nine residents in five sub-counties.

The home-to-home operation, led by Namungha assisted by the sub-county and community health officials, had so far covered six sub-counties.

Namungha said the goats confiscated from the errant homes would be sold for money to hire people to construct latrines for them.

More – New Vision