‘16% Ugandans practising open defecation’
“People with bad habits throw faeces onto the roof of my house. Whenever you hear something hitting the roof, you just know it is faeces,” she said.
Residents were warned against practising open defecation.
By Violet Nabatanzi and Grace Kalenge
Journalists @New Vision
KAMPALA - Kate Nyangoma’s children are frequently in and out of the hospital due to diarrhoeal diseases and stomach pain.
She narrates that despite waking up early every day to clean her house and the area where her children play, she often finds faeces wrapped in polythene bags and thrown on the shade of her house.
Nyangoma, a resident of Busia zone in Katanga slum, in Wandegeya, Kampala described this as a bad habit among some residents and wonders how someone can defecate in their home and then dispose of the waste at a neighbour’s house.
“Whenever I find the faeces, I have no choice but to clean up because my children play in the same area,” the slum dweller laments.
Busia-Katanga slum has only four toilets, and residents are required to pay sh300 per visit.
However, children are allowed to use them for free. Nyangoma pleads with the Government to construct free public toilets in the slums, saying this would help reduce the spread of diseases.
Nyangoma is not alone. Many residents, like Christine Nsiima, face similar challenges.
“People with bad habits throw faeces onto the roof of my house. Whenever you hear something hitting the roof, you just know it is faeces,” she said.
Speaking during the launch of National Sanitation Week 2025 in Busia-Katanga, state minister for primary healthcare Margaret Muhanga revealed that 16% of Uganda’s population still practises open defecation.
Diseases like cholera spread when people ingest food or water contaminated with faecal matter.
Muhanga told the residents of Katanga that failure to maintain a clean environment puts their children at risk of diseases such as dysentery, cholera and vomiting.
While launching the sanitation week, the Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, demonstrated to the residents the proper way of washing their hands as it is an effective way in promoting hygiene.
Kampala has about 62 slums, characterised by low toilet coverage, inadequate water supply and poor waste management. Benon Kigenyi, the deputy executive director of Kampala Capital City Authority, expressed concern about the sanitation crisis, noting that poor health keeps people in poverty.
Dr Herbert Nabaasa, the commissioner for environmental health at the health ministry, stated that 33 children die daily in Uganda due to diarrhoeal diseases, which also contribute to stunting.
“Diarrhoeal diseases result from poor hygiene and sanitation, leading to severe socio-economic challenges, including death,” he explained.