By Esther Gune.

About 85 health workers across 43 health facilities in Adjumani District have been empowered by WaterAid to integrate Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) services.

The revelation was made during a visit by a delegation including officials from Ghana, Mozambique, South Africa and Canada to Adjumani District Leadership hosted by WaterAid on Tuesday 2nd December 2025. The delegation also interacted with health workers, and patients while visiting Maaji B Health Centre II, where the organization constructed a VIP drainable pit latrine and rehabilitated other WASH facilities.

WaterAid is part of a consortium of organizations implementing the 5 year Sexual Health and Reproductive Education (SHARE) project in Uganda which ends in March 2026, with support from the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada.

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) plays a critical role in achieving Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) for women and girls, especially as it relates to personal health.

Through SHARE, WaterAid has been partnering with the district to rehabilitate WASH systems in healthcare facilities including: installing hand washing units to prevent the spread of disease; restructuring sanitation facilities to ensure that toilets are inclusive and gender sensitive; training healthcare workers in healthcare facilities and in the community on WASH infection prevention and control; installing safe waste disposal systems; and training healthcare workers on proper waste management. 

While making a presentation on the impact of the SHARE project in Adjumani, Lulu Henry Leku, the Assistant District Health Officer in charge of Maternal Child Health, said that the Project has strengthened medical waste management systems, increased family planning uptake, improved private safe water access points for adolescent girls and young women, and enhanced menstrual hygiene management.

“The project has significantly increased family planning uptake from 27.1% in Financial Year 2020/2021 to 48.8% in Financial Year 2024/2025, while teenage pregnancy has dropped to 15.7% in Adjumani compared to the national average of 24%,” Lulu said.

Lulu also observed that the project has addressed long-standing gaps in adolescent sexual and reproductive health, enabling health workers through WaterAid’s training to confidently provide counselling or guidance and engage girls who previously feared seeking family planning services.

In affirmation, Ovizio Rose, an enrolled nurse at Maaji B Health Centre II, appreciated WaterAid saying that the trainings had equipped health workers with knowledge on waste management, handling adolescent girls, and improving sanitation and hygiene, which has also boosted their confidence.

 “I appreciate WaterAid for the SHARE Project. This project has really impacted us with a lot of knowledge, especially through the training.  They have taught us how to manage waste, how to handle adolescent girls, and how to improve sanitation and hygiene. All this has built our confidence,” said Ovizio Rose.

According to Amaunzi Alex, the in-charge of Maaji Health Centre II, the facility provides a range of services, including general OPD consultations with a daily attendance of about 150 patients and an average of 65 deliveries per month.

Amaunzi explained that they work closely with community health workers, mainly VHTs, who monitor hygiene and sanitation in the community, assess how households use WASH facilities, and check whether they have latrines.

“After the Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) training conducted by WaterAid, our ability to manage infections and medical waste improved giving us the confidence needed to deliver services to a population of 17,288 people, including 14,288 refugees,” Amaunzi said.

Despite these achievements, Lulu however said, several challenges still hinder health service delivery, including limited local budgets for major repairs, high pressure on services due to the refugee population, and inadequate water flow in some facilities during peak hours.

The water coverage rate in Adjumani currently stands at 75%. As of May 30th 2025, according to the Uganda Water Supply Atlas, Adjumani has 1,113 domestic water points. 46 of them have been non-functional for the last 5 years and are considered abandoned.

According to records at the District Health Office as of June 2025, out of 50,373 households, 9,829 have no latrines, only 18,590 have improved latrines, 27,010 haven’t attained Open Defecation Free Status (ODF), and 4,665 still lack access to safe drinking water.

END.