At least 12,035 people in Soroti District lack pit latrines and practise open defecation, exposing communities to sanitation-related diseases, district health officials have said.
District Health Inspector Emmanuel Ekodeu attributed the sanitation gap partly to collapsing soils and rocky ground, which make it difficult for some residents to construct durable pit latrines.
He warned that open defecation increases the risk of human waste being washed into water sources during rains, potentially spreading diarrhoeal and other faecal-oral diseases.
‘Looking at that, we are still not doing well as far as sanitation and hygiene is concerned,’ Ekodeu said.
Soroti District has a population of 324,842 people and 59,289 households, with pit latrine coverage currently estimated at 80 percent.
Ekodeu said the district is working with local leaders and communities, particularly around trading centres, to encourage households to construct and use proper latrines.
He also urged residents to install handwashing facilities and use soap and water after visiting latrines.
Handwashing coverage in the district stands at only 15.1 percent, according to the district health department.
‘Handwashing is key in the prevention of diseases and we encourage the leaders and communities to have them,’ Ekodeu said.
At Takaramiam Village in Awaliwali Sub-county, Gweri County, LC1 chairperson Bazil Areu said the sanitation situation remains a challenge.
The village has 313 households, of which 80 have improved pit latrines, 120 use grass-thatched latrines and 113 practise open defecation.
Areu attributed the problem to limited knowledge on latrine construction and difficult terrain in some parts of the village.
‘Many residents do not know how to dig pits, and hard rocks in some areas make it impossible to dig deep, so shallow pits fill up quickly,’ he said.
He pledged to mobilise residents to improve sanitation and increase household latrine coverage.
Florence Abego, a resident of Awaliwali Sub-county, called for increased community sensitisation, saying poor sanitation contributes to illnesses including diarrhoea and cholera.
Uganda continues to face a significant sanitation challenge, with about 14.6 million people, or roughly 32.4 percent of the population, estimated to practise open defecation, according to figures cited by the Ministry of Health.