OVER 273,000 ARUA CITY RESIDENTS PRACTICE OPEN DEFECATION

Mikail Adam, the Arua city Biostatistician while presenting the City’s WASH data during the Annual Health Performance Review at Hunters Nest.

By Dramadri Federick

Arua City

A total of 273,870 residents in Arua City, accounting for approximately 70 percent of the reported population, are reportedly practicing open defecation, with health officials warning that poor sanitation is increasing the risk of preventable diseases, particularly as the city prepares for heavy rains.

According to Arua City health data, only 61 percent of the city’s 391,243 residents have access to latrines, while just 16 percent have access to improved pit latrines. Only 12 percent of residents have access to hand-washing facilities, while 51 percent have access to clean water.

The demographic data also indicates that key health facilities, including Arua Regional Referral Hospital, report an Open Defecation Free household status of only 13 percent. Across the health sub-districts and health facilities, open-defecation-free rates remain critically low, with facilities such as Andelizu Medical Centre and Micu Health Centre II reporting only 19 percent coverage.

Health officials say the combination of inadequate sanitation, limited access to hand-washing facilities and gaps in access to safe water is creating conditions that could facilitate the spread of diseases such as diarrhea and cholera.

Mikail Adam, the Arua City Biostatistician, who presented the data, says about 70 percent of the population is practicing open defecation, with only 30 percent reportedly defecating in toilets.

“Our percentage is very alarming as a city with only 16% of the households having improved latrines, and you can see everywhere on the dashboard everything is indicating red, meaning we are below the national targets. So, we have a lot of alarming community issues in relation to sanitation and hygiene.”

At the national level, roughly 32.4 percent of Uganda’s population, equivalent to about 14.6 million people, reportedly practice open defecation, according to data cited in national sanitation assessments.

Data from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) also indicates widespread contamination risks in household drinking water, with 90% of households drinking water contaminated with E. coli. The level of contamination varies considerably across regions, with some areas recording particularly high rates.

These national figures place Arua City’s reported sanitation situation within a wider public health challenge facing Uganda, where inadequate access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene continues to expose communities to preventable health risks. The situation raises concerns about the city’s ability to meet national sanitation targets.

The Ministry of Health’s Quadruple 90 target seeks to ensure that 90 percent of households have latrines, 90 percent have hand-washing facilities, 90 percent have access to safe drinking water, and 90 percent are open-defecation free. However, Arua City remains significantly below these targets based on the figures presented by its health authorities.

At Ayivu East Division Police Headquarters in Manibe, health reports indicate that the available toilet facilities have filled up.

Stakeholders who visited the facility are concerned that the poor sanitation conditions could increase the risk of disease transmission if urgent action is not taken.

Adia James Yoti, the Chairperson of the Social Services Committee at Arua City Council, says the situation is made worse by the large population of service seekers who also depend on the facility’s sanitation infrastructure.

“I went there yesterday, and I wanted to use the toilet facility. As soon as I entered, with what I saw, I had to make a U-turn. I thought I was going to die. The toilets are full and people are now defecating outside. We need immediate intervention from the health personnel,” Adia stated.

Andrua Joyce, a Health Assistant in the Environmental Health Office, is calling for stronger community involvement in improving sanitation and hygiene. “We are likely to register cases of cholera if we don’t work together. We need to decommission the facility,” Andrua noted.

Ministry of Health estimates cited by health officials indicate that approximately 23,000 Ugandans die each year from diarrhoeal diseases, with about 19,700 of these deaths occurring among children under the age of five. Nearly 90 percent of this burden is linked to inadequate access to safe water, unsafe sanitation and poor hand hygiene.

Beyond the health consequences, poor sanitation and weak water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure also carry a significant economic cost. Estimates cited in national assessments put the annual economic burden on Uganda at approximately UGX 3.89 to 4 trillion, through premature deaths, healthcare expenditure and lost productivity.

The figures underscore the need for stronger investment in sanitation infrastructure, improved access to safe water and hand-washing facilities, enforcement of sanitation standards and greater community participation if Arua City is to close its sanitation gap and reduce the risk of preventable disease.

Written by newsroom-radiopacis