| dc.description.abstract | Introduction: Sanitation in urban slums of Kampala remains a main challenge especially for the urban poor. The rapid growth of slums has led to pressing problems including lack of access to sanitary facilities. As a result of lack of access to sanitary facilities, untreated human waste threatens the water supply and human health. Consequently repeated annual outbreaks of hygiene and sanitation related diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, typhoid and dysentery affect Bwaise slum community as a whole including the children who are much more vulnerable. In order to arrest the situation of poor sanitation in urban areas, the Millennium Task Force on Sanitation called for among others better financing including both more money and better targeting of that money to achieve improvements which benefit the poor.
Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the presence and process of operation and maintenance of the existing sanitary facilities, identify the cost of use and emptying of the sanitary facilities, identify the financing options for the existing sanitary facilities, the challenges to financing operation and maintenance of sanitary facilities and alternatives for financing of the sanitary facilities in Bwaise III slum, Kawempe Division.
Methods: This survey was carried in Bwaise III parish, located at Kawempe division, one of the administrative units of Kampala City. A descriptive cross sectional study design employing both quantitative and qualitative methods was used. Overall, 250 household heads were interviewed, A structured questionnaire and key informant interview guide were administered through personal interviews, focus group discussion guide and observational checklists were also used.
Results: The findings indicate that landlords, NGOs/CBOs and the local government were the main funding sources for the construction of the sanitary facilities in Bwaise III slum. About half of the respondents were willing to pay some money for the construction of the sanitary facilities. Poverty among the urban poor is considered the major factor contributing to poor financing of the sanitary facilities and overall the process of operation and maintenance of the sanitary facilities is poor across the slum.
Generally respondents who reported to be having sanitary facility user committees were 2 times more likely to be willing to pay for operations and maintenance of the sanitary facilities compared to respondents who reported not having sanitary facility user committee (OR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.03 – 3.77). Similarly respondents who had attended sensitization workshop(s) on sanitation were 3 times more likely to be willing to pay for operations and maintenance of the sanitary facilities than those who had never attended (OR: 2.84, 95% CI: 1.33 – 6.07).
Conclusions: The cost of emptying sanitary facilities using cesspool truck ranges between 80,000/= - 200,000/= ($38-$95) using private cesspool trucks and 55,000/= - 80,000/= ($25-$38) using Kampala Capital City Authority cesspool truck. The challenges hindering financing for sanitary facilities and their emptying included poverty/having no money, corruption/embezzlement, lack of cooperation among people, Negligence and ignorance of the people on issues of sanitation, empty promises by government, and lack of trust in the system. The main sources of financing sanitary facilities in Bwaise III Parish were the community mainly landlords for private/personal facilities most of which are raised unimproved facilities and the CBOs/NGOs mainly funded the public sanitary facilities using donor loans and grants.
Recommendations: Kampala Capital City Authority Kawempe division together with DHT should subsidize the cost of emptying latrines in Bwaise III parish. The money charged by cesspool emptiers should be reduced and standardized in order to make it affordable for the community of Bwaise III parish and more human resource should be employed to manage the cesspool emptiers at KCCA and to address barriers to financing of sanitary facilities, sanitation committees at community level should be formed and increase the frequency of health promotion on benefits of sanitation and innovative financing options like microfinance credit loans and cost sharing. | en_US |
