Arua struggling to end open defecation, flying toilets

Arua: As rains intensify, there is worrying concern about open defecation among the community members within Arua City and the neighboring areas, Francis Rwothomio writes.

According to reports obtained by this publication, some people defecate in polythene paper bags and dump faces anyhow, especially within the city center.

This is likely to cause diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio, among others.

In recent research conducted in the Kenya ward central division in Arua City, 40 community members were tasked with constructing latrine after one was arrested for defecating in a polythene bag and throwing it at night in the neighborhood.

Dr. Apangu Pontius, the principle health officer in Arua City, says they have been trying to educate the masses on the importance of having toilets and pit latrines in all the homes, which reduces the rates of disease contractions in the rainy season. Up until now, very few households have had them.

‘’We have been trying to educate the masses on the importance of having toilets and pit latrines in al homes which reduces the rates of disease contractions in rainy season, but up to now, very few households have had them,’’ he stressed.

He said people defecate along the roads, put in caveras, and throw them anywhere at night, which has put people’s lives at high risk, especially the kids playing in the compound.

According to research carried out in 2021, out of a total population of 75,3000 people in Arua, about 266,549 use open defecation and have no latrines.

The report suggests that there are 107,000 households without latrines.

In Uganda, sanitation is still a challenge with 22.9% of the population practicing open defecation, 64% do not practice adequate hand washing (washing hands with water and soap) in the rural areas.

Globally, about 0.9 billion people still practice open defecation. Although there has been decrease in proportions of the population practicing open defecation in many regions of the world, the number of open defecators increased in sub-Saharan African countries by 16 million to 220 million.

Studies reveal that although governments have been spending on increasing latrine coverage for decades, rural open defecation remains high. More so research has also demonstrated that construction of more latrines does not result in reduction of oral-fecal diseases among children.

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