World Water Day
Mar 22, 2016
Water and livelihoods
By Gerald Tenywa
Economy needs abundant water supply to thrive
Dirisa Walusimbi, a resident of Ggaba landing site in Kampala has been a fisherman on Lake Victoria all his life. He had never experienced drought like the kind that hit Uganda in 2005 and 2006. As the water levels in the lake dropped, so did the amount of fish he caught. In fact, his daily catch dropped by more than half and he was forced to quit fishing as his earnings could no longer sustain his family CLICK HERE FOR MORE
400 people dying daily of water borne diseases
By Gilbert Kidimu
Statistics from the health ministry show that Uganda loses 400 people daily from water-borne infections like diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera and typhoid, among others, which are easily preventable. Saad Luwemba, a resident of Kinyoro zone in Katwe, one of Kampala's slums, had to part with sh170,000 after he was diagnosed with typhoid. He thinks he could have contracted the disease from drinking water commonly sold in sachets.CLICK HERE FOR MORE
Spring water in urban areas not safe
By Gilbert Kidimu
Last year, typhoid fever ravaged the central business district of Kampala in February
and March, affecting over 1,090 people. An outbreak of typhoid, a water-borne disease, spreads through eating food and drinking water contaminated with faecal matter, was declared in Kampala on February 19, after numerous cases were reported and confirmed in the city centre.CLICK HERE FOR MORE
Sector needs more govt funding
But the problem is that funding is often lacking to facilitate the sub-county authorities to undertake monitoring of the water resources. "We need to increase public funding to the sector because it means there is greater ownership," she says, adding that Uganda should not depend on donors for the bulk of the money invested in the water and environment sector
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Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase II
International Water and Sanitation Centre
Ministry of Water and Environment