Access
Access to an improved water source increased from 43% in 1990 to 72% in 2010, according to estimates by the Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation of the United Nations. In the same period, access to improved sanitation increased slightly from 27% to 34%. However, the Water and Environment Sector Performance Report of the Ugandan Ministry of Water and Irrigation shows completely different access figures. According to the report, in 2011 access to "safe water" was 66% while access to improved sanitation was 70% in rural areas and 81% in urban areas. 87% of the population lived in rural areas in 2010. Apparently the government's definition of access to safe water is stricter than the JMP definition of an improved water source, and the government's definition of improved sanitation is less strict than the JMP definition. The differences in definitions complicate the monitoring of targets for access.
According to the EU, the number of people defecating in the open has fallen substantially between 2000 and 2008, although the government provides no subsidies for the construction of latrines. However, according to the JMP estimates the number of people defecating in the open has only declined from 3.5 million in 2000 to 3.2 million in 2010. It is not clear if the different assessments of the magnitude of the reduction are due to differences in definitions or other reasons.
The most common technology options for rural water supply are protected springs, boreholes, protected wells, and gravity flow schemes. Those who do not have access to an improved source of water supply have to rely on unsafe sources such as rivers, lakes, and unprotected wells. One consequence of poor access and/or quality is that water-borne diseases are a main cause of infant mortality. Access to functioning water sources varies considerably among districts, from 12% to 95%.
The national government aims to reach universal water supply and sanitation coverage in urban areas and 77% water supply and 95% sanitation coverage by 2015.
Read more about this topic: Water Supply And Sanitation In Uganda
Famous quotes containing the word access:
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—Andrea Dworkin (b. 1946)
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