Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council

THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA

WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION COLLABORATIVE COUNCIL CONSEIL DE CONCERTATION POUR L’APPROVISIONNEMENT EN EAU ET L’ASSAINISSEMENT CONSEJO DE COLABORACIÓN PARA EL ABASTECIMIENTO DE AGUA Y SANEAMIENTO

PRESS RELEASE

UGANDA LAUNCHES WASH: WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE CAMPAIGN

Kampala, 26 July – In a show of inter-departmental collaboration and partnerships involving representatives of government, NGOs, communities, churches, artists and schools, as well as international organizations, Uganda launched its WASH campaign with a two-day programme of activities in the presence of dignitaries including H.E. Vice-President Speciosa Wandira Kazibwe, the Ministers of Water and Health, Members of Parliament and the Chair of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), Sir Richard Jolly.

Vice President Kazibwe noted, in her launch address, that lack of access to safe water and sanitary human excreta disposal facilities and unhygienic behaviors and practices have hampered national development efforts, as reflected in the poor health and socio-economic indicators. The Vice President wondered how Uganda could eradicate poverty when the Country is losing, annually, an estimated 3.3 million man days due to illnesses related to poor sanitation and spending 27 billion Uganda shillings on sanitation related diseases.

Hon. Maria Mutagamba Minister of State for Water, welcomed participants and guests at the WASH campaign launch including the Hon. Ministers, Members of Parliament, Local Government and community leaders, development partners, the Representatives of UNICEF and WHO and UWASNET.

The WASH campaign is a follow-up on a global scale to the implementation of ‘Vision 21”, a WSSCC initiative that was greeted with acclaim at the Second World Water Forum in The Hague in 2000. This bottom- up process had involved some 3000 people in some 130 countries including Uganda. Vision 21 and the WASH campaign aim to generate political will and mobilize action around the world, with the objective of bringing an end to the ‘silent emergency’ in which 6,000 people, mostly children, die every day worldwide. 2 In his address, Sir Richard attributed the cause of such a high toll among vulnerable groups, especially, children, to diarrhoea and other preventable diseases caused by three things: lack of access to safe water, lack of basic sanitation and unhygienic conditions.

“For its part, Government must play the role of enabler, facilitator and implementer … and ensure that communities are genuinely involved in the process,” he said.” With political will and determination, we are confident that Uganda will meet the water and sanitation goals, taking into account people-centred approaches, he added.” The WSSCC Chair also acknowledged the contributions of Minister Mutagamba who has participated in at least two of the roundtable dialogues organized by the WSSD in the lead-up to the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg next month. He praised Uganda’s efforts in putting water as a priority by ensuring that each person will have access to a safe and sustainable water supply within 2 kms. from their home and to extend this to 65 % of the population by 2006, with full coverage by 2015. Sir Richard also paid tribute to the late Mrs. Monica Kunihira Kinyanjui, Executive Director of UWASNET, and a WSSCC colleague, who recently passed away, and who worked tirelessly to promote water and sanitation through networking in partnership with government, NGOs and other members of civil society. He also recognised the pioneering drive and efforts of Mr. Patrick Kahangire who has, since its initiation, led the Africa Working Group and Chapter of the WSSCC.

The WSSCC Chair lauded the Government of Uganda for adopting community-based approaches to galvanise Community initiatives, promote local ownership of interventions and sustainability of benefits and services. To ensure ownership “One sign of progress is the building of separate toilets for boys and girls in some areas that have helped to increase school attendance, not to speak of the issues of human dignity and privacy, gender equity – these are all key elements of the WASH campaign,” Sir Richard said. “If such actions can be scaled up or replicated on a wider scale, then we will start to see a difference, in disease incidence, less mortality from diarrhoeal disease or cholera, more productive people, an improved quality of life,” he stressed.

The WSSCC is a global collaborative network of multi-stakeholders working in 140 countries. Its membership comprises governments, NGOs, private sector, UN agencies, bilateral and multi-lateral institutions, training and research institutions and other concerned individuals with a shared goal of providing improved sanitation, proper hygiene and safe water to those who do not enjoy these basic services.

The Uganda launch is the fourth launch of WASH and only the second national campaign to be launched, the first having taken place in South Africa in March of this year. As a modest contribution to today’s ceremony, the WSSCC donated eco-sanitation facility to be used by some communities as a demonstration to get the campaign going in the country.

The WASH campaign comes at a time when the Uganda Government, unlike most African countries has prioritized the Water Sector under the PEAP and is in the middle of Water Sector Reforms and moving to adopt an Urban 3 Water and Sanitation Reform Strategy and a National Rural Water and Sanitation Investment Plan aimed at providing clean safe water and sanitation for all Ugandans in the next 15 years. Government has also put in place a Health Sector Strategic Plan with targets for sanitation and hygiene improvement. “I am impressed by the presence here of so many representatives from government, NGOs, UN agencies, academia and other members of civil society,” said the WSSCC Chair. “But what will happen after today’s launch? he asked. He expressed the hope that activities will continue to expand and strengthen and that good examples can be replicated in other parts of the country, especially in the rural and peri-urban areas, in pockets of poverty where traditional services do not reach the poor and marginalized people. Sir Richard emphasized the importance of changing people’s perceptions and attitudes on sanitation and hygiene for interventions to make a difference. He also noted that building local capacity, giving attention to the needs of women and appropriate technologies are equally important to political will and mobilizing financial resources that will be required.

Uganda’s WASH Launch focussed on strengthening partnerships and in her address, the Vice-President emphasized that, “the WASH Campaign social mobilization and advocacy strategy calls for a range of partnerships to be developed among all the stakeholders involved, from policy-makers, sector professionals and practitioners, civil society, religious and business leaders, schools, all the way down to the community, households and individual families”.

Concluding her address, the Vice-President expressed her desire that, “this launch and the post-launch activities shall lead to stronger partnerships between the communities, community based organizations, local governments, central government, the private sector and our development partners and emphasized the importance and role of political leaders to set good example and mobilize communities for improved water and sanitation interventions”.

Hon. Ruhakana Rugunda - the Minister for Water, Lands and Environment, while inviting the Vice President to make her launch statement, highlighted the key achievements and challenges facing sustainable provision of safe water, especially to the rural communities and the urban poor. He thanked the Vice President for her keen interest and support for the Water and Sanitation activities and for her presence to grace the occasion and launch the WASH Campaign in Uganda. He pledged to follow up and build the necessary partnership and collaboration for a sustained WASH Campaign.

From 29 July to 1 August, the WSSCC, the Water and Sanitation Program (East Africa Region) and the South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry will be holding an important conference called “AfricaSan – the Africa Sanitation and Hygiene Conference in Gauteng, South Africa – where Uganda will share with others their experience – and discuss the challenges posed by the sanitation and hygiene conditions in the continent. The outcome of AfricaSan will provide inputs to the first substantive meeting of AMCOW and the New Partnership for African Development as well as to the WSSD itself. 4 Sir Richard also announced that the WSSCC, together with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and other partners such as UNICEF, WHO, UN-Habitat, and others are proposing what is known as a Type II Initiative – Partnerships for WASH - an imitative that will earmark support to some 30 countries, Uganda among them, in order to meet the Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of those without access to safe, affordable water.

The WSSCC Chair also requested the support of H.E. President Museveni, to use his influence to persuade other African Heads of State and members of NEPAD, to support the adoption by the Johannesburg Summit of a sanitation goal, similar to that of water supply. “Although not a requirement to achieve the MDG, it is a valuable tool that countries can use in the implementation of the Plan of Action for the WSSD and in lobbying for the resources that will be necessary to achieve the goal of halving the percentage of people without adequate sanitation, without which there can be no sustainable development, without which poverty reduction will not be achieved,” he concluded.

Highlights of today’s WASH programme included field visits to Bwaise 11 parish, statements by the Ministries of Health, Local Government and cultural institutions on the Promotion of WASH. Entertainers also regaled participants with drama and songs performed by local artists from Eastern Uganda, poems and recitations by school children. The launch ended with a handwashing ceremony to symbolize the fact that this simple act can go a long way towards reducing the deaths from diarrhoea and incidence of other water-borne diseases, particularly among children.

According to Sir Richard: "It is important to change people’s perceptions and attitudes on sanitation and hygiene for interventions to make a difference. This also involves building local capacity through decentralised, giving attention to the needs of women and appropriate technologies are equally important to political will and mobilizing financial resources that will be required," he said.

For more information about the Uganda Launch programme, please contact: Mr. Patrick Kahangire Directorate of Water Development Ministry for Water, Lands and Environment Kampala, Uganda Tel. 256-41-505945 Fax. 256-41-505763 E-mail: [email protected]

For more information about the WSSCC and the WASH Campaign: Ms. Eirah Gorre-Dale, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council In Uganda, c/o Grand Imperial Hotel, Tel. No.256 41 250681; Fax: No.256 41 250 606. OR in NY: WSSCC c/o UN DESA, Water, Natural Resources and SIDS Branch, Division for Sustainable Development, DC2-2018, New York. N.Y. 10017. Tel. +1(917) 327-2420 - Cell. +1(914) 309-5491 - Fax. +1(917) 327-3391. E-mail: [email protected]