Public health workers at Kasensero landing site in Kyotera have raised concerns over worsening sanitation conditions, warning that the area has become a hotspot for hygiene-related infections linked to poor waste management and limited toilet facilities. Health workers say the situation is being driven by a severe shortage of latrines, which has led to widespread open defecation and increasing cases of preventable diseases such as diarrhoea, dysentery, and typhoid.
Jane Nabukeera, the in-charge of Kasensero Government Health Centre II, says the sanitation crisis is now undermining efforts to manage other health conditions, including malaria, HIV/AIDS, antenatal care, and paediatric cases. She notes that many patients admitted to the facility present with infections linked directly to poor hygiene and environmental contamination.
Nabukeera estimates that diarrhoeal diseases alone account for nearly half of the cases reported at the facility, especially among children. She further explains that the landing site, which has a population of about 4,000 people, has fewer than ten shared latrines, a situation she says has worsened during the rainy season when flooding spreads contaminated water into homes and surrounding areas.
Nabukeera has called on Kyotera District Local Government to prioritise investment in public sanitation infrastructure, warning that the current conditions continue to undermine public health interventions at the facility.
Rose Mary Nakagimu, a midwife at the facility, says health workers continue to conduct community health education, but inadequate sanitation facilities are hindering their efforts. She adds that the area’s flat, flood-prone terrain makes it difficult for residents to construct proper latrines, further worsening the situation.
Steven Ssenyonjo, the Kasensero Town Council Chairperson, acknowledged the challenge and said plans are underway to construct four new latrines and rehabilitate existing ones in the next financial year in a bid to improve sanitation standards at the landing site-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
