Statistics published by the United Nations in 2017 found that, in Uganda, 81% of people had limited to zero access to a safe toilet facility.
This can have tragic consequences with water, sanitation and hygiene related diseases like diarrhoea being a leading cause of hospitalisation and death for children under five. In urban areas particularly, the lack of access to adequate sanitation means water borne illnesses can spread quickly.
One way the Busoga Trust is helping to tackle this issue is through a micro-finance scheme in peri-urban areas around Jinja. The scheme enables lower income households to access improved sanitation facilities by providing very low interest affordable loans which are for the sole purpose of investment in latrines. Once the loans have been paid back the money is then made available to other households.
To date over 230 stances have been constructed benefiting some 400 households.
“Before getting micro-finance assistance from the Busoga Trust, my family had to use the public latrine. There was feaces everywhere, and we had to share it with so many people. I was worried for the time when my toddler would be too old to use a potty and would have to start using the dirty toilet herself! However, thanks to Busoga Trust’s micro-finance for sanitation program, my family has now been able to afford our own good quality toilet. And since we installed ours, many of our neighbours have copied us and constructed their own too!”
Comments