Uganda to meet MDG on water

Post date: Apr 18, 2013 11:28:50 AM

Uganda is likely to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target for access to safe water, but it is off track on sanitation, according to Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu, the Minister of Water and Environment.

The Millennium Development Goals contain a commitment to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

MDGs were global commitments agreed upon by world leaders under the United Nations to promote development, especially in the least developed countries such as Uganda.

According to Kamuntu, access to safe water in rural areas is estimated at 65%, while the access in urban areas has increased from 66% to 69%. Access to sanitation is 70% in rural areas and 85% in urban areas. Engineer Dominic Kabuse, the commissioner for urban water, who read Kamuntu’s speech, said indicators in delivery of water and sanitation indicate that the sector has stagnated over the last five years.

He was speaking during the three-day East African CSO Forum held at Lake Victoria Serena Resort, Entebbe.

“In Uganda, as of June 2012, access to safe water in rural areas has stagnated at 65%, which was reported last year. This was mainly as a result of creation of many new district local governments and reduction of local government releases for the fourth quarter of the year 2011-2012,” Kabuse said.

Continue