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Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have sounded the alarm on Uganda's persistent struggles with providing clean water and basic sanitation to its citizens.

Speaking at the 14th annual CSOs Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) forum on Wednesday, experts highlighted the daunting challenges facing the country.

"The WASH sector is still facing significant challenges," said Ms Yunia Musaazi, Executive Director of the Uganda Water and Sanitation NGO Network. "When it comes to access to clean water, we are still lagging behind. At the beginning of the National Development Plan (NDP1), there was a target of universal access to both water and sanitation. But where we stand now, we are at around 70 per cent, which means that out of every 10 households, three households don't have access to clean water."

Ms Musaazi also emphasised the dire sanitation situation, stating that "close to more than 10 million Ugandans still don't have access to basic sanitation." She attributed these shortcomings to inadequate financing, requiring an additional 3 trillion shillings annually to meet the sector's needs.

"Lack of adequate financing is still a big problem, hindering implementation of clean water and sanitation programs," Musaazi explained. "As Civil Society Organisations, we are trying to put our voices together and invest in programs that support access to clean water and sanitation and environmental conservation."

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