Alternative Approaches & Tools for Improved Water Supply and Sanitation for Towns in Northern Uganda SUMMARY 
The project has started in January 2015 and is carried out in 7 towns of Northern Uganda including: Zombo, Pader, Kitugum, Kebaramaido, Dokolo, Apac and Amuria. It targets boys, girls, men and women in the selected  districts and intends to reach 332,611 people. The project is carried out because of a lack of access to safe water in major towns in Uganda. Interventions require a multi-sectorial approach to meet technical, financial and capacity development needs. This project therefore proposes interventions aimed at increasing access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation in the medium term. The project is executed by the following partners : National Water and Sewerage Corporation; Vitens Evides International (VEI); UNESCO-IHE; Kagga and Partners; Ministry of Water and Environment. Provision of water and sanitation is still an enormous challenge for most developing countries within sub Saharan Africa. It is estimated
that access to safe water in the major towns is about 68%. The majority of
the population living in small towns and rural areas depend on unsafe
drinking water and poor sanitation exposing them to disease and resulting
in loss of productivity. This amongst other factors keeps this population
entangled in the web of poverty. Faced with increasing population and
rising urbanization, small unplanned towns are emerging rapidly. Many of
these towns lack piped water and have no or very poor sanitation
facilities. 
Faced with increasing population, the influx of refugees from South Sudan and rising urbanization, small unplanned towns are emerging rapidly. The water infrastructure is aged, and because of 21year prolonged civil war has not been replaced over the years. The National Water and Sewerage Corporation as the utility service provider is faced with the challenge of high investment costs required to meet these service gaps.  
The towns in Northern Uganda have been hit hard with a 21year
prolonged civil war and with the influx of refugees from South Sudan.
The growing populations have out-stripped the existing capacities of
water and sewerage services. The water infrastructure is aged and due to
the prolonged conflict has not been replaced over the years. The National
Water and Sewerage Corporation as the utility service provider is faced
with the challenge of high investment costs required to meet these service
gaps. Objective is increasing access of safe water and provision of improved
sanitation systems, thereby achieve the Government’s coverage
objectives.
On a macro level:
• pro-poor services approaches in policy design and implementation
• Economic and political stability to enable accurate design projections and to protect the project
interventions from external risks such as foreign exchange variability.
The project will induce the following changes:
• Improved socio-economic status of the communities, resulting primarily from increased
productivity and health benefits of improved water and sanitation.
• Behavior change among communities towards to safe water, sanitation and hygiene practices
• Improved efficiency and functionality of the existing water and sanitation systems
• Increased “water and energy awareness” among the community 
• Improved living and sanitary conditions of the population living within newly taken over Urban
Areas. Governement in abid  to increase access to safe water  drilled production wells to supply piped water systems in urban centres. These were initially  managed under private sector and now  management of the water services has been transfered to NWSC
Assumptions:
• Provision of financial resources from the Government and NWSC
• Community mobilization and stakeholder support integration into the project interventions.
• Adoption of appropriate and cost effective technologies in the implementation of the project.
• Sustainability of the interventions and project achieved through effective and efficient pricing and
operation and maintenance of the facilities.
• Adequate capacity to manage the project interventions and ensure continuity after
completion.
• Adoption of integrated approach to the implementation of the project covering climate change,
water resource conservation, gender concerns and energy conservation. It’s the role of government  to provide safe drinking Water  and good  sanitation in institutions as per the Ugandan policy. However  owing to competing priorities funding  for schools sanitation  has been dwindling over time. Well as the Ministry of Education is responsible  for sanitation improvement in schools, it’s not prioritized  and thus little budget allocated. Despite signing of MOU between the 3 ministries of Water , Health  and education in respect to  roles and responsibilities, operationalization  of the MOU has not been realized. The key limitations are prioritization of sanitation, limited resource allocation among competition priorities, and inadequate coordination. 7 towns of Northern Uganda including: Zombo, Pader, Kitugum, Kebaramaido, Dokolo, Apac & Amuria. It targets boys, girls men and women  in the selected  districts and intends  332,611 people. Plan activity’s -> Goal 4 (see summary)
Nixson Orech as WASH Project Officer 
• Development of Information Education and
Communication (IEC ) materials & tools for WASH
campaigns
• Campaigns and awareness creation on WASH
improvement and relevancy in selected towns
• Campaign on energy efficiency and saving practices
in communities to free up money for water
Mary Namwembe as Plan Uganda employeer 
Community Mobilisation
and WASH advocacy

Interventions require a multi-sectorial approach to meet technical,
finance and capacity development needs. This project therefore proposes
interventions aimed at increasing access to safe drinking water and
improved sanitation in the medium term. The interventions shall focus on
institutional development, capacity development, infrastructural
improvements, community mobilization through WASH activities and
exploration of alternative energy sources to boost reliability of water
supply. The key outcomes include adequate safe water, increased
coverage, consumer based management systems for continuity and
sustainability, improved water supply reliability and increased per capita
consumption from an approximate 50l/c/d to70l/c/d and in the long term
increased productivity and livelihoods leading to economic growth.

4. Provision of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services for
selected institutions and off-grid informal settlements
1.	Training/awareness raising creation
CLTS
Operations and management of public and school latrines
PSP Operations and management of Public stand pipes
Gender transformation training

2.	Advocacy campaigns
Commemoration of World Water Day and World Toilet Day
Development of Information Education Communication (IEC) Materials
Documentation of best practices

3.	Installation of Water and Sanitation Facilities
Activity 3:1: Development of Water PSP, public toilets and washrooms
Activity 3:2: Installation of On-site Water and Sanitation facilities at selected educational and
health establishments. F In bid to build a sense of ownership the targeted communities provide in kind contributions including land for construction of facilities and community contribution. Additionally to sustain operation of the water systems,  an appropriate tariff is charged  in form of the user fee.
I Capacity increasement of Ugandan government and National Water and Sewerage Corporation by financial and technical assistance, as well education on gender equality and social inclusion. 
E Negative impacts on the environment during work.
The project includes some large infrastructural investments possibly causing impact on traffic
flows, economic activities and incidental resettlements.
NWSC adheres to the national rules for EIAs and has a dedicated department where an EIA will be
carried out. 
Rainwater harvesting is used
Energy audit is carried out and an Energy management plan is done. Also a photovoltaic power is installed.  
T Sustainability of services, Sustainability of the interventions and project achieved through effective and efficient pricing and operation and maintenance of the facilities.
S Development of energy management plan for sustainability of interventions. Bad quality materials produced through child labour and/or illegal/poisonous raw materials.
The materials produced from dangerous materials or inferior raw materials will have negative impact on the project. Either from a health perspective of employees or from consumer perspective who consume the drinking water either from a technical sustainability point of view.
To avoid bad quality materials produced from dangerous raw materials quality criteria will be included in the tender procedure.