Uganda’s safe water access surpasses 71 percent

What the report says

Uganda’s government says national access to safe water has risen from 71.2% to 73.6%, beating the annual target of 71%. According to Watchdog Uganda, the update was presented to Parliament on Wednesday, 30 September 2026, during a plenary sitting chaired by Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth, by Water and Environment Minister Kahinda Otafiire.

The report said rural safe-water access reached 72%, urban access stood at 75.2%, and coverage in refugee and host communities was 76%. It also listed facility functionality rates of 85%, 92% and 91% in those areas. The government said it had rehabilitated 27 piped water systems and 1,238 rural point-water facilities, restoring service for an estimated 464,443 people.

Despite the gains, the minister told lawmakers that 12,339 of Uganda’s 77,225 villages and cells still had no improved safe-water source by June 2026. He said the hardest-to-reach communities are often in remote areas where extending infrastructure is costly. Otafiire suggested a longer-term shift beyond boreholes, including moving water from major lakes and rivers to dry regions such as Karamoja.

Members of Parliament welcomed the report but pressed for faster action, more funding for boreholes and water transport, and better preparedness for floods and mudslides. The ministry also said it has commissioned 11 automatic weather stations, bringing the national total to 234 across 104 districts, as part of wider efforts on early warning, water expansion, ecosystem restoration and environmental monitoring.