USAID Q1-2023 Acholi Newsletter (approved)

Although the overall toilet coverage in Uganda is at 77.2%, open defecation is still high at 22.9% and 12.1% in rural and urban area respectively, hand washing with soap at 36% in the rural areas and 40% in urban areas according to the Water and Environment Sector Performance Report 2019. Open defecation rate is highest in the north at (18%), in some rural districts as high as 51%.

The USAID Local Partner Health Services (LPHS)—Ankole and Acholi Activity championed the 2023 pre-World AIDS Day commemoration activities in the Acholi sub-region. These pre-WAD events were held at four different locations: Gulu University in Gulu City, Bobi HC III and Pukony in Odek subcounty, Omoro district; Awach HC IV and a community served by the HC IV in Gulu district.

Imagine you are a 14-year-old girl in Uganda. You love school and dream of attending university one day. But each month, you miss a week of classes. The school’s latrines are not separated by gender, often unkept, and do not offer a safe and private place to change and dispose of used pads—so you stay home.

Just over a year ago, a third of Tegweng village in Kitgum district located in the northern Uganda practiced open defecation and none of the households practiced proper handwashing. Over the last year, the (USHA) has worked with the 37 households in the village to change household hygiene and sanitation norms and guide the village to improve their sanitation status.

The United States has a longstanding partnership with the Ugandan people. U.S. assistance, implemented through local and international non-governmental and civil society partners, directly benefits Ugandans from all backgrounds and regions of the country. Millions are living healthier, learning better, earning more, and advocating for their civic and human rights thanks to our strong partnership.

Fifty-one year-old George Okumu is a farmer based in BaroLemo village in Gulu district. He is married to two wives and has nine children. George attended a community training on sanitation and learned how basic sanitation services hold promise for healthier families. After learning, George volunteered to be the team leader of the Sanitation Committee in his village.