Uganda Sanitation for Health Activity

Progress towards increased access to improved sanitation facilities, especially in rural areas, has taken a ‘snail’s pace’, registering only a marginal increase over the last 10 years; from 14% in 2000 to 19% in 2019. Since 2015, there has been no progress at all. At the current rate, the SDG 6.2 “to achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation by 2030” may not be achieved.

The Uganda Sanitation for Health Activity (USHA) is a five-year consortium project (2018-23) financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Led by Tetra Tech, the partnership - which includes SNV, BRAC Uganda, FSG, and Sanitation Solutions Group (SSG) - aims to increase the number of people with access to improved Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services. Ultimately WASH progress is expected to lead to health improvements at household, community, and district levels in three geographic clusters: Central East, Central West and Northern Uganda.

The project implements evidence-based social and behaviour change strategies to understand sanitation preferences and to develop the most appropriate approach to move targeted populations from unimproved to improved toilets. USHA works in close coordination with complementary development programmes within USAID and the Ugandan WASH sector. It aligns with the Government of Uganda’s long-term development priorities, district-level development agendas and the needs of communities. Through a series of interventions at district, community and household levels, USHA seeks to achieve three interdependent outcomes:

• Outcome 1: Increased household access to sanitation and water services

• Outcome 2: Key hygiene behaviours at home, school, and health facilities are adopted and expanded

• Outcome 3: Strengthened district water and sanitation governance for sustainable services

SNV leads in strategy development and activity/ output implementation for Outcome 2.