Africa-Press – Uganda. At least 8,000 residents of Akadot cell, Kwapa town council in Tororo District are at risk of contracting waterborne diseases after consuming contaminated water drawn from Oswan well.
Oswan well is an unprotected and unreliable water source serving seven other cells and two schools, including; Akadot I and II, Ochegen Central, Ochegen I and II, Amiagoro and Komachor; Ochegen Primary School and Joy Nursery and Primary School.
At this water source, by 6am, there is a scramble for water especially by women, according to Ms Elizabeth Amoit, a resident.
She says she spends “several hours” trying to access the water which is also consumed by animals, and exposes her to risks of contracting waterborne diseases.
“We are many and our water is not good enough; this unprotected well serves seven villages, and we spend several struggling for water,” she said in an interview on Monday.
According to her, the longer the women wait for water, the more trouble they fall into with their husbands.
“When we return home, our men beat and chase us away,” she said, describing the well as “unreliable”.
The Tororo District Health Officer, Dr Okoth Obbo, says there have been human fatalities due to the continuous consumption of dirty water.
“For example, in the current financial year, the district registered a total of 24,583 acute diarrhoea cases, with 9,383 being among children, 15,220 malaria cases, with 8.7 per cent being among adults and 25.6 per cent being among children,” he said.
He further cited diarrhoea, typhoid, and cholera as being some of the waterborne diseases ravaging residents, with cholera, being the most rampant in slum areas and the sub-counties of Kirewa and Siwa.
Intervention
The Pentecostal Outreach Ministries International Uganda led by Bishop Dr Girado Olukol is drilling boreholes and repairing broken ones to improve access to clean water.
“We have seen the challenges people are facing, especially drinking dirty water, and that is why we have taken it as a Church to drill and repair broken boreholes to ensure people are safe,” he said.
With the shortage of access to clean water being responsible for a spate of domestic violence, rising cases of diseases and lost productivity in the area, locals hope for the best.
On school days, learners at the Ochegen Primary School scramble to get drinking water, according to Mary Namutosi, a pupil.
“It is hard for me to maintain my menstrual hygiene due to lack of water, which has forced many girls to drop out of school,” she said.
Ms Jane Amusugut, the head teacher, says due to the lack of safe water for the communities and school, many learners report late for classes, while the disease burden has increased.
Global findings
A report by UNICEF cites Uganda as having poor sanitation, hygiene and unequal access to safe drinking water, which has left thousands of children sick and at risk of death.
The report, for instance, states that diarrhoea is one of three major childhood killers, killing at least 33 children every day, most of whom have drunk unsafe water or come into contact with contaminated hands.
The report further reveals that around seven million Ugandans lack access to safe water, while 28 million lack access to improved sanitation facilities.
For More News And Analysis About Uganda Follow Africa-Press
