National Sanitation working group responds to COVID-19 pandemic

The National Sanitation working group through its partners headed by the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE), has launched a campaign to respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic through the provision of handwashing facilities.

The campaign is targeting the provision of information, education, communication materials, and handwashing facilities as well as soap, to vulnerable people and the high-risk population like the traffic officers and other essential workers within Kampala Metropolitan.

Picture by Agnes Nantambi

Speaking after receiving the items from the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council headed by the International Water and Sanitation Committee (IRC), the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Water and Environment,  Alfred Okot Okidi, said supporting the vulnerable population will greatly help in fighting COVID-19.

He said that available studies have proved that washing hands with soap and water significantly reduces the incidence of diarrhea and acute respiratory infections among children under five by 47% and 25% respectively.

“We are very grateful to Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) IRC, Unilever - Uganda and world Vision for the support and partnership towards the COVID-19 response and we look forward to future opportunities," said Okidi the Permanent Secretary MWE.

Okidi asked the collaborators to continue spreading the message on the importance of handwashing with soap after visiting toilets, cleaning children's feces, and also before handling food.

“We should also encourage the population to practice improved sanitation and hygiene not only at their homes but also at the workplaces,” he said.

Picture by Agnes Nantambi

The commissioner for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation, Eng Joseph Oryono Eyatu, observed the need for continued use of the facilities as a measure to promote handwashing with soap.

“We have seen a lot of these facilities in strategic positions but when people are just bypassing them, we need to use them so that they remain relevant in the communities they are placed in,” he said.

Items including; buckets, soap, face masks, and posters, among others, were distributed to vulnerable people in Bunamwaaya, a Kampala suburb in Wakiso District. 

According to the LC Chairman  Mirembe Village, John Bosco Tamale, residents of slum areas have not effectively responded to the COVID-19 pandemic due to lack of support.

Saidhat Nantambi, the public health officer Sabagabo division applauded the sanitation working group for helping the slum dwellers cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Picture by Agnes Nantambi

“Their number one priority is food and accommodation, which makes it hard to implement issues of sanitation among them, With this support, I hope they will embrace handwashing since soap and other items are being provided,” she said.

She said that the Bunamwaya slum has greatly suffered from diarrheal diseases like Typhoid, Bilharzia, and Dysentery.

Justine Nakku, after receiving soap said it would relieve her from such diseases.

“I will make sure that I promote handwashing with soap in my family and I hope to save the money I have been spending on other home needs,” she said.