REPORT: 90% of Ugandans can’t wash their hands properly

What the report says

A new Ministry of Health report, launched at a health promotion and disease prevention conference in Kampala, says poor water, sanitation and hygiene habits remain a major public-health problem in Uganda. According to the report, the country loses about 33 children under five every day to diarrheal disease, even though many of these deaths are preventable through basic hand washing and cleaner sanitation.

The report says only about 10% of Ugandans practice proper hand washing as recommended by the World Health Organization. It also says more than 90% of households lack consistent access to safe water, with the problem worsening as urban growth outpaces sanitation infrastructure. Ministry officials said preventable diseases still account for a large share of illness, and they warned that failure to improve WASH conditions could cost the country heavily over the next decade.

The ministry, working with researchers at the Economic Policy Research Center, estimated treatment costs for water-borne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery and diarrhea at 1.658 trillion shillings. It said stronger WASH investment over the next five years could generate savings of 1.724 trillion shillings by cutting disease burden by up to 80%.

Officials also used the report to press for more community participation in cleanliness efforts, including the national cleaning day initiative. The findings matter because they link hygiene behavior and infrastructure gaps to avoidable illness, health spending and broader economic losses.