Sanitation and Hygiene - The context.

Sanitation is basically a public health practice of providing clean and safe conditions, such as safe disposal of human waste, wastewater, and solid waste (trash) to prevent disease transmission and provide a pleasant environment, hygiene on the other hand deals with the principles and practices of keeping one’s self and their surroundings clean, to avoid disease, and to provide pleasant living spaces and experiences.

Sanitation and Hygiene have far reaching impacts on the environment and communities warranting reasonable attention that should involve a multi stakeholder approach.

How it applies to our context.

In our context, a clean, sanitary and hygienic environment does not only prevent incidences of diseases, but also the overall health of humans, animals, and the environment, thus enhanced quality of life.

Poor disposal of waste is a very big challenge in much of Uganda. Road sides, road junctions and storm water drainage channels tend to be convenient places for waste disposal, resulting in devastating outcomes such as water stagnation, flooding and spreading of water borne diseases, among others

Sanitation and hygiene therefore go hand I hand and in this context it applies to personal, domestic and public cleanliness relating to proper handling and disposal of trash, rubbish, litter and garbage, etc., that harbor disease causing pathogens. This also enables us to have pleasant living spaces and experiences.

Effective waste disposal, access to clean and safe water (WASH) and proper nutrition, among others, are important aspects of sanitation and hygiene.

By adopting communally and locally feasible and acceptable practices, waste management shall be achieved. Practices such as proper waste disposal, access to adequate and clean water, and community education are key to driving behavior change for public health, economic development, and social equality. 

Safe disposal of human excreta to create a "sanitation barrier" that prevents contamination of the local environment, water sources, soil, and food are other key practices that can be encouraged.

 The appalling garbage disposal situation in much of the country is not only health hazard but also an environmental disaster. This situation largely arises from ignorance about proper garbage disposal and management, general poor community sanitation mentality and a near broken public garbage management system.

Road sides, road junctions, and water drainage channels,   are some of the areas of convenience where most garbage will be dropped. The bulk of the garbage is non-biodegradable plastic bags, used baby diapers, and food dregs with known devastating impacts on human and animal health; and the environment because such garbage often harbor disease causing vectors and pathogens and also block storm water drainage channels thus causing stagnant water and even floods in some causes.

Unfortunately, this is becoming the “new normal” in virtually all urban settings.

The issue of proper garbage management is therefore a community wide concern that should involve all concerned and affected publics.

Urban settings tend to have specific challenges relating to high population density land ownership issues, and accessibility, especially in the densely populated urban areas, making public waste management a challenge, on the other hand disaster-prone areas and emergency setting such as IDPs require specialized considerations such as raised latrines, emergency latrines, water harvesting, water purification, water trucking, and hygiene kits (soap and sanitary pads, etc.), among others. The involvement of affected communities is effective in identifying the appropriate sanitation and hygiene interventions, easing ownership and adoption of the interventions.

Furthermore, practices such as use of sanitary latrines, connecting to sewer systems where available, managing household solid waste properly, including sorting of waste, complying to use of designated waste collection points and waste bins, recycling, or safe incineration, and ensuring proper drainage to properly channel storm water that will prevent water stagnation that attract vectors such as mosquitoes. Blocked water channels cause water stagnation and floods which often result damage to roads and buildings.

Adopting rainwater harvest technologies will not only control storm water but also avail homesteads with clean, adequate and safe water.

Accessing piped water, protecting water sources, sinking wells, and boiling, filtering and treating water, among others, are also effective ways to guarantee water safety.

For hygiene practices, focus will mainly be on promoting specific behaviors such as;

• Hand washing with soap at critical times such as after using the toilet, before preparing and handling food, after handling a baby's faeces, after handling certain items, etc.

• Personal cleanliness, such as regular bathing and maintaining nail and facial hygiene.

• Food hygiene, including safe food handling and storage.

• Proper menstrual hygiene management, which requires access to clean materials and private, safe facilities. 

SELLMARK is aware that the success of sanitation and hygiene initiatives heavily depend on adapting them to the specific local context by emphasizing the following; 

• Behavior Change Adoption (BCA) - effective programs involve understanding and addressing local cultural beliefs, social norms, and existing practices. Community engagement strategies, such as interactive workshops, local campaigns, and involving community leaders or religious figures, are more successful than top-down approaches.

• Local Ownership - Initiatives thrive when communities lead the process, using local knowledge and available resources to develop sustainable solutions. This fosters a sense of ownership and ensures that facilities are used and maintained over time.

• Infrastructure - In disaster-prone areas, building climate-resilient infrastructure (e.g., elevated latrines, protected water sources) is essential to withstand shocks like floods or landslides.

• Vulnerable persons - Special attention is needed for vulnerable groups, including women, children, the elderly and people with disability.

• The Community-Led Total Sanitation Approach (CLTS), a strategy that mobilizes communities to identifying their own localized solutions rather than relying on external initiatives and subsidies.

• Environmental Cleanup - solid waste management (garbage collection) adopted as a critical localized sanitation task that mobilizes the entire local community to “clean up” to prevent pest breeding and water pollution. 

• Local Governance and leadership- local leadership support (political, cultural and religious) as “change agents” by especially creating awareness, providing mass education and enforcing ordinances, are effective in effecting the entrenchment of sanitation and hygiene initiatives, especially in areas of  waste disposal chains.

SELLMARK encourages dealing with Sanitation and Hygiene issues as multi-stakeholder concern, addressing it both at the individual and at the community level by promoting the adoption of behaviors and technologies that enhance individual, community and institutional sanitation and hygiene.