The four Town Sanitation Plans are a product of a comprehensive, participatory process initiated last year 2021 by the lower local government leadership and facilitated by IRC Uganda.
Published on: 29/03/2022
Mugusu, Kijura, Kiko and Kasenda Town Councils in Kabarole District are set to launch their new Town Sanitation Plans (TSPs) and officially kick-start implementation on 30 March 2022. The event is hosted at the Kabarole District Local Government Headquarters with Chairperson Hon. Richard Rwabuhinga as guest of honour. The town sanitation plans are a product of a comprehensive and participatory process led by the Town Council Leadership and facilitated by IRC Uganda as a way to support the district's targets of universal access to water sanitation and hygiene by 2030 as laid out in the Kabarole District WASH Masterplan.
"We are following our laid out strategies in the WASH Masterplan and we are steadily progressing towards the goal of leaving no one behind by 2030. With safe water and sanitation accessible to everyone even in the small towns and sub-counties, we reduce the disease burden substantially and can be assured of a healthy productive lifestyle for our people. I congratulate these town councils for getting on board," Hon. Richard Rwabuhinga, Chairman Kabarole District.
The launch will bring together key stakeholders from the Ministry of Health, regional units of the Ministry of Water and Environment, Kabarole District Local Government, technocrats and politicians from the four Town Councils, the Mid-Western Umbrella of Water and Sanitation and the National Water and Sewerage Corporation. Civil society representatives from Water For People, UWASNET, JESE, TURIKUMWE and Finish Mondial/HEWASA, the media and cultural and religious leadership are also expected to attend.
The Town Sanitation Plans aim at coordinating and integrating various sanitation-related measures at the town council level including physical planning, sanitation marketing and behaviour change communication, local private sector involvement, law enforcement, and full stakeholder participation, among others. The plans contain Town Council priority issues; objectives and targets for improving sanitation; planned activities; and a financial estimation management plan for the activities. They include estimates on the required investments to be made either by the Town Council, Kabarole District Local Government, and/or donor agencies for improvements along the sanitation value chain.
The actions and interventions presented in the plans are focused on improving sanitation in households, public schools, public places (e.g., markets, bus/taxi stops), and healthcare facilities. In addition, the plans propose interventions to improve the collection and treatment of faecal sludge in the towns. The planning horizon is the year 2040 in line with the national Uganda Vision2040.
As part of the launch event of the Town Sanitation Plans, IRC Uganda will introduce two new projects namely the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s Safe Water Strategy Phase Two and the Sanitation and Hygiene Improvement project funded by the James Percy Foundation, through which a number of implementation activities laid out in the TSPs will be supported.
IRC has collaborated with Kabarole District Local Government as a core district partner since 2006, and has supported efforts to research, develop and publish a district WASH master plan for Kabarole District. This master plan outlines a vision for 100% coverage of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services by 2030.
The development and publication of the Town Sanitation Plans for Kijura, Mugusu, Kasenda and Kiko was commissioned by IRC Uganda with funding support of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and the Waterloo Foundation.
