Policies and strategies
- The recently launched five-year National Development Plan (NDP) for 2010/11-2014/15, which replaces the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP), is the key government framework for ensuring poverty eradication and assuring financial investment in infrastructure.
- Improved water supply and sanitation are among the key issues emphasized under the current Health Sector Strategic Plan (HSSP II), now under revision to HSSP III.
- Uganda's National Water Policy (NWP), adopted in 1999, calls for sustainable access to safe water and sanitation/hygiene.
- In 1997, the Kampala Declaration on Sanitation defined ten areas of action to improve sanitation in Uganda. Leaders of local governments signed the ten-point strategy and essentially agreed to commit resources and act to reverse the declining status of sanitation.
- The ten-year Improved Sanitation and Hygiene (ISH) Financing Strategy from 2006 provides implementation and financial guidance to the sector. It particularly advocates private sector-driven approaches, such as sanitation marketing and public private partnerships.
- In addition, a HIV/AIDS Mainstreaming (2004) and a 2010/11-2014/15 Gender Strategy (2009) have been developed for the water and sanitation sector.
Institutions
- Uganda has embarked on a water sector reform and has introduced private sector participation service provision in both large and small towns – mainly for water and to a lesser extent for sanitation.
- The Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) has overall responsibility for initiating national policies and setting national standards and priorities for the water sector. The Directorate of Water Development (DWD) under the MWE is the lead agency responsible for managing water resources, coordinating and regulating all water and sanitation activities. Furthermore, the DWD provides support services to local governments and other service providers.
- The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), an autonomous public utility, manages water and sewerage services in large urban areas and municipalities. In urban areas not covered by the NWSC (small towns and some districts), private water operators are empowered to provide these services to the local water boards/ town councils, and are supervised by the DWD.
- In rural areas, the communities through Water User Committees (WUCs) are responsible for demanding, planning, financing, operating and maintaining rural facilities. The districts and the DWD are in charge of technical support.
- Sanitation has no line or leading ministry, and falls under different ministries: The Ministry of Health (MoH) is the lead agency for hygiene promotion and household sanitation. Within the MoH, the Environmental Health Division (EHD) is responsible for development of environmental health policies, guidelines, standards, strategies and approaches, in line with the relevant Public Health Act of 2000. EHD also provides support to local governments (decentralized structures). The Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) is engaged in the planning and provision of sanitation/hygiene facilities in urban areas, rural growth centers and public places. It is also in charge of promoting good hygiene and sanitation practices in the vicinity of water facilities. Hygiene promotion and sanitation in schools fall under the Ministry of Education and Sports (MES).
- In 2001, the three key ministries of health, water and education signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to agree on shared responsibilities for sanitation and hygiene. However, the MOU didn’t result in effective cooperation between the ministries.
- The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) is responsible for gender responsiveness and community development. From a financing perspective, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MFPED) mobilizes and allocates funds, reviews sector plans and reports on compliance with sector objectives.
- Coordination: A Sector Wide Approach (SWAP) was adopted in 2002 to enable the government and development partners to follow a single policy and expenditure programme. Joint sector reviews are hold annually. The Water and Sanitation Sector Working Group, which comprises of the relevant ministries, donors and NGOs, meets regularly. As a sub-group, the National Sanitation Working Group (NSWG) was set up in 2003 to ensure the operationalization of the MOU on sanitation and hygiene. NSWG coordinates sector activities, lobbies for funding, and supports policy development. Furthermore, there is a donor coordination group and UWASNET, the Ugandan Water and Sanitation Network for NGOs.
