Why we need to double our efforts in solving the problem of open defecation

By Dorah Egunyu

RECENTLY some members of staff suggested that we close one toilet in the SNV Uganda head office and have all the 17 staff use one toilet in commemoration of the sanitation week that ended on March 21. The suggestion almost brought the office to a standstill and that is taking into account that we would still have use of one toilet.  

While most of us would not appreciate the discomfort of queuing for a few minutes to use the toilet, imagine how discomforting you would be if you had to wait for 20 or more people to be able to access one toilet or worse still wait for the cover of darkness to afford you the privacy to defecate in the open because you have no access to a latrine.

The 2011 sector performance report of the ministry of water and environment places the pupil: stance ratio in primary schools at 66:1. This means one latrine serves 66 pupils!  A water, sanitation and hygiene advisor in SNV Uganda shared with us the experience that some women in communities without latrines go through.

The women are forced to withhold attending to the call of nature until night time because of fear of being seen carrying out their ablutions in the open while others resorted to using ‘flying toilets’ - polythene bags.

Uganda’s sanitation week theme “Open defecation is a shame. Use a latrine,” could not have been more appropriate if one was to choose a theme for Uganda. The 2011 sector performance report of the Ministry of water and environment raises serious concerns about our sanitation coverage, especially in the rural areas that is home to approximately 28.9 million people.

According to the report, only 69.7% of the households in rural areas have access to latrines. While this figure is commendable, the ripple effect of the 30.3% who practice open defecation cannot be ignored. Currently 280 cases of cholera have been reported in the districts of Kasese, Buliisa, Mbale, Bududa, Sironko, Pallisa, Butaleja and Manafa and the numbers are expected to rise during this rainy season.

It is worth noting that a number of these districts have suffered some of the worst earth quakes and floods in the country and cannot afford the luxury of remaining ‘bedridden’ to nurse themselves back to health. This coupled with poor hand washing practices in most communities 24% in the rural areas and 30% in the urban areas does not bode well for our already limping health sector.  

What then is the way forward for our country? 

The Government already has a number of policies aimed at improving sanitation in the country. We have the Public Health Act, community health clubs and model villages and now we are implementing the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) and sanitation marketing, which policies have been adopted by both the ministry of water and environment and the ministry of health.

However, the enforcement of these policies still remains a challenge. “The challenge of sanitation is a political one. Politicians do not want to help us enforce policies because of fear of losing votes,” the Regional District Commander Kabarole District Mr. Elijah Biryabarema had to say with regard to the sanitation week theme. 

May be it is time to step up the name and shame from merely naming the households involved to publicising district statistics on sanitation coverage and linking it to the leaders who come from these constituencies. I believe no leader wants to be known for not having latrines in their constituency. 

Another alternative could be knowledge networking. At SNV we believe in promoting education through learning from each other. If a community has achieved success in something that we are trying to promote, then all we need to do is expose others who are still struggling to the possibilities. After all, seeing is believing.

In sub-Saharan Africa no country has achieved and received as much accolades as Rwanda. With almost 400 people per square kilometre, Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. However, it has also been recognised as one of the countries that have made significant strides in improving access to sanitation coverage (Almost four million people gained access to improved sanitation between 1990 and 2008.) so what has Rwanda done that we have not done:

The Government has formalised traditional norms and practices into its administrative framework. Traditional practices like ‘Umusanzu’ and ‘Ubudehe’ that promote community support for the vulnerable groups and ‘Imihigo’ – a practice where people publicly commit themselves to the achievement of a given task have all been adopted and formalised into the national system.

Traditional cultures are very powerful tools that have shaped the society for a long time and the wise know better than to ignore them. 

The Rwandese government also recognised the importance of sanitation in eradicating poverty and incorporated it as part of its poverty reduction strategy paper of 2002. To strengthen its implementation, they introduced performance based financing as an incentive. Ultimately, no one wants to bite the hand that feeds them and that is a big incentive to perform. 

While the WHO and UNICEF joint monitoring programme for water supply and sanitation 2012report has cast doubt on the likelihood of the world attaining the MDG on sanitation, I believe that our country can achieve and exceed this MDG if we refocus our priorities and give water and sanitation the attention that it deserves. 

Writer is the Communications Officer, SNV Uganda