Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) experts under the Uganda Water and Sanitation Network (UWASNET) have called all stakeholders to properly dispose of menstrual waste to increase access to clean water and improve sanitation and hygiene practices.
They made this call during the 14th Annual Civil Society Organization’s WASH Forum 2024, which took place from October 2–4, 2024, at the Golf Course Hotel, Kampala.
Diana Kazooba, a knowledge management and learning officer at Simavi Uganda, an NGO that advocates for women and girls rights to access clean water, stated while making her presentation that it’s important to properly dispose of menstrual waste, stating that over 23% of water sources are contaminated by menstrual waste.
“Most menstrual waste is dumped in water bodies, which is a dangerous practice. When unsafe water is taken, it causes diseases that we are familiar with, cholera and diarrhea, which kill 33 children in Uganda daily,” she noted.
When asked what can be done to ensure proper menstrual waste disposal, Kazooba urged that stakeholders should advocate for the use of Eco-friendly menstrual products like the Afri pads and reusable pads, stating that they can easily be disposed of.
“There should be a launch of national campaigns of reusable products and proper disposable tins in all schools and communities and engage in public-private partnerships to reach over 10,000 girls in rural areas to provide reusable products. A sustainable future depends on how these issues will be addressed,” she stated.
John Mutebi, a WASH entrepreneur, advocated for more women-led WASH enterprises to contain the improper menstrual waste disposal, stating this will help to engage in campaigns on reusable products.
“More women-led NGOs and enterprises should come up to guide the girl child on which Eco-friendly menstrual products to use and how to dispose of them. This is a good move, as it will be easy for communication between women and girls,” he stated.
UWASNET is an organization that consists of 14 NGOs meant to strengthen coordination and collaboration of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), stakeholders, and actors in the water and sanitation sub-sector of Uganda.
