UNICEF is pushing Uganda to act now on water, sanitation, and hygiene, saying poor WASH is fueling child deaths and school absenteeism.
Country Representative Dr Robin Nandy made the call Wednesday at the close of the National High-Level Dialogue on climate-resilient water and sanitation services at Sheraton Hotel, Kampala.
He said focus must go beyond high-profile outbreaks. ‘While Ebola and previous outbreaks of M-pox get national and global attention, there are other diseases like diarrhea and respiratory diseases that are two of the biggest killers of children in Africa that deserve similar attention,’ Mr Nandy said.
‘We know the areas at risk of certain communicable diseases, whether it’s cholera or Ebola. We need to make sure as part of health preparedness, health facilities, schools, and communities in high-risk areas have access to water, sanitation and practice good hygiene,’ he said.
Mr Nandy stressed that WASH also affects learning. ‘WASH is a huge factor that improves school performance and outcomes and the lack of WASH facilities, particularly lack of menstrual hygiene facilities leads to school absenteeism among girls and this declines their performance,’ he said.
But infrastructure alone isn’t enough. After visits to schools and health facilities in southwest and northwest Uganda, he found many WASH systems already broken down.
‘It’s a combination of aspects like infrastructure, human behaviour, accountability and ownership. I visited a number of schools and health facilities where WASH infrastructure were set up but they are now dysfunctional because there was no mechanism for operations and maintenance,’ Mr Nandy said. He urged parent-teacher associations and district governments to budget for running and maintenance costs.
Minister of State for Water Aisha Sekindi said the gaps are wide. In cities, old water systems can’t keep up with growth. In rural areas, ‘approximately 15 percent of improved safe water sources deemed non-functional,’ she said.
‘There is a need for us to unite and respond to these challenges. Lack of access to clean and safe water and proper and safe hygiene and sanitation, particularly for children affects all aspects of their lives and well-being,’ Sekindi said.
Dr Callist Tindimugaya, Commissioner for Water Resources Planning at the Ministry of Water and Environment, said population growth and climate change are stretching resources thin.
‘There are challenges of high population growth, environmental degradation, climate change and rural-urban migration… This raises the need to scale up more partnerships especially with the private sector,’ Mr Tindimugaya said.
The two-day dialogue, organized by the Ministry of Water and Environment with UNICEF, ran June 24-25, 2026 under the theme ‘Advancing climate resilient water and sanitation services for sustainable and inclusive development in Uganda.’
Uganda is now rolling out its WASH National Climate Adaptation Plan 2026-2030 to expand climate-adaptive systems in high-risk districts like Kabong in Karamoja and Sembabule in the cattle corridor.