Most Ugandan Homes Lack Water and Toilets

Half of Ugandans said they went without enough clean water during the previous year, according to an Afrobarometer survey. One in five respondents said shortages occurred “many times” or “always.”

Water supply ranked as the fourth most important problem citizens wanted the government to address, cited by 26% of respondents. Health ranked first at 62%, followed by education at 36% and infrastructure and roads at 34%. Rural residents were twice as likely as urban residents to name water supply as a priority, at 30% compared with 16%.

Piped water remained limited. Fewer than two-fifths of surveyed communities had a piped-water system, while 65% had access to a borehole or tubewell. Only 2% of participants said their main water source was inside the house, and 87% said it was outside their compound. Piped water served as the main domestic source for 53% of urban residents, but only 14% of rural residents. In rural areas, 51% relied on a tubewell or borehole.

Sanitation access was similarly restricted. Only 7% of enumeration areas had a sewage system, with the highest levels in Kampala and urban areas. Just 3% of Ugandans had a toilet or latrine inside their house, while 65% used sanitation facilities outside their compound. Despite these gaps, 57% approved of the government’s performance on water and sanitation, although approval fell below half among the very poor and residents of Western and Northern Uganda.