World Toilet Day: AMREF Health and KCCA partner to sanitise Kawempe

AMREF Health has combined efforts with Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to sanitise areas in Lutunda zone, Kanyanya in Kawempe Division.

These activities have been done to commemorate World Toilet Day as well as to sensitize and improve the general sanitation of the area.

The drive commenced as early as 7:00am with staff from AMREF Health, KCCA, area leaders and residents joining efforts to do a general cleanup of the area.

The clean up involved unclogging blocked drainage channels, sweeping the streets and the collection of rubbish.

To commemorate the World Toilet Day, AMREF Health provided cesspool tanks to provide relief to various families with latrines located in areas with sensitive water levels.

In addition, the community was sensitised by various local leaders and representatives from the present organizations on how to prevent the spread and contraction of Ebola and Corona virus through proper toilet practices.

Most emphasized among these was the washing of hands that saw schools present engage in a hand washing competition before freebies such as medicated soap and hand washing tanks were distributed to various persons.

In an effort to curb the Corona Virus Disease, residents were offered free vaccination and booster shots courtesy of AMREF Health.

According to area leaders, Lutunda zone has been one of the places in Kanyanya in dire need of sanitation services and this drive by AMREF and KCCA has been a source of relief.

According to Namuli Kojo, the Lutunda zone chairperson, the poor sanitisation brought about by the lack of toilet facilities stems from the landlords who refuse to construct toilets for their tenants.

She further beseeched KCCA leaders present to lock up all buildings that do not have toilet facilities.

“This is the time for every landlord without a toilet to be shut down,” she remarked.

According to AMREF representative Paul Mulinde, this drive was motivated by the desire to inspire behavioral change in people now that there is an Ebola outbreak.

He further noted that such diseases stem from poor hygiene and sanitation and that is why AMREF provided garbage collection trucks and cesspool trucks in order to have all the waste taken to places it cannot affect people.

Other organizations that partnered in the drive included UK Aid, Hygiene and Behavior Change Coalition (HBCC), Unilever as well as National Business Compact on Corona Virus.

World Toilet Day is commemorated every 19^th of November across the globe. However, use and access of proper toilet facilities remains a challenge as over 3.6 billion people in the world struggle to access a proper toilet.

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