Kampala Faecal Sludge Management Fact Sheets

Summary of sanitation challenges 

The impacts of poor sanitation are particularly more significant in Kampala City due to among other challenges; 

1. Low coverage (less than 10%) of the sewer network (mainly confined in the central business district). This has resulted into indiscriminate disposal of untreated sewerage into the environment
2.  Over 90% of the households use pit latrines, most of which have inadequate standards. Approximately 1.8% is estimated to have no access to a toilet at all. In addition, almost 45% of the pit latrines are abandoned after 5 years when they are either full or broken-down due to poor infrastructure, and inadequate operation and maintenance. 
3. Pit emptying services are unregulated, inadequate and largely unknown or unaffordable by the urban poor in informal settlements. 
4. There are also some pit emptying technological limitations in terms of flexibility to manoeuvre into congested informal settlements and efficiency to serve settlements with simple pits.
5. Majority of the population dispose solid waste into pit latrines.  This practice makes; the pits to fill up in a short period of time, makes it difficult to empty such pit latrines and ultimately increases the cost of pit emptying services
    

Consequently, it is estimated that less than 45% of the pit latrine waste (Feacal sludge) is safely collected, transported, disposed and treated. The rest is either left in abandoned pits or discharged in the open environment-leading to frequent disease epidemics especially during the rainy season