Press release: Improved access to water and basic sanitation facilities by 2012

Uganda and Sweden recently signed an agreement regarding the Joint Water and Sanitation Sector Programme Support (JWSSPS).

- By supporting the sector programme we contribute to increased access to safe water and sanitation facilities in rural areas, says the Swedish Ambassador Anders Johnson. Over 2 million people in rural areas and small towns will be served with improved water and basic sanitation facilities by the programme. Many more will be indirectly served through improved sector performance.

- We have great confidence that the support to the water and sanitation sector will contribute to poverty eradication and better health for Ugandans, says the Swedish Ambassador, Anders Johnson. In addition improved Water Resources Management is a part of the programme and will need to receive increased attention in order to meet challenges of climate change.

- The Ambassador added that while increased budget allocations to the sector from the Government is necessary, it is equally important that the funds that are made available are better and more efficiently and equitably used. Misuse, waste and corruption have to be actively addressed in practice.

- Capacity at district level must be strengthened. Strong supervision, monitoring and accountability mechanisms are required. Appropriate technical solutions are called for in order to reduce investments and unit costs. Key to good performance and better results is that the users and beneficiaries of basic water and sanitation facilities actively participate in, contribute to and influence the planning, management and monitoring of the facilities. With such measures, sector targets and the MDGs can be met. Addressing the rapid population increase in Uganda will also be decisive to reach the MDGs, says the Ambassador.

The agreement was signed by the Embassy of Sweden and by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. The Ministry of Water and Environment and the districts carries the main responsibility for the implementation of the agreement.

The Water and Sanitation Sector in Uganda has received substantial support from Sweden for more than a decade. During this time there has been significant improvement in Uganda. For example, access to safe water supply and sanitation in rural areas increased form 48 % in 2000 to 61 % in 2006.

The JWSSPS is a joint programme between the Government and six development partners. The Swedish support amounts to a total of 16 MUSD – approximately 27 Billion UGX over a 2 ½ year period. About half of it will be provided in the form of sector budget support to districts, and the rest to support capacity development, institutional reform, integrated water resources management and anti-corruption activities.

The JWSSPS has been developed to further align and harmonise support to the W & S Sector to government systems and procedures. The JWSSPS is an integral part of the W & S Sector and result achievement will be measured for the whole sector. The total value of Development Partner funds to the JWSSPS amounts to 150 MUSD and the Government of Uganda contributes with roughly the same amount. In year 2015 the target is that 77 % of people in rural areas (within 1.5 km) and 100 % of people in urban areas (within 0.2 km) will have access to improved water sources.

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