Leading a Community to Open Defecation Free Status

Since August 2020, The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) has implemented the Local Partner Health Services (LPHS) – Ankole and Acholi Activity funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The Activity has supported the Government of Uganda (GOU) in making substantial…

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%.

Award winning photo featured on the cover page of the 2023 US Report on Aid to the People of Uganda.

3.6 billion people globally still live without access to safely managed sanitation and over 494 million still practicing open defecation. Safely managed sanitation is a toilet that is not shared by other households and has a washable floor where human excreta is hygienically separated from human contact and is disposed of safely. In Uganda, according to the Water and Environment Sector Report 2020, only 78% have access to toilets and…

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.

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.