GENDER EQUALITY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION IN WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE IN UGANDA

The program was financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and aimed to increase access to sanitation and water services, promote key hygiene behaviors, and strengthen district water and sanitation governance. USHA worked in 20 districts across three regions in Uganda, implementing a series of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions. The program's key outputs included increased household access to sanitation and water services, key hygiene behaviors adopted and expanded, and strengthened district water and sanitation governance for sustainable services. One of the program's key interventions was the expansion of water supply systems, which resulted in the installation of 1,640 household water connections, with 38% allocated to female-headed households. Additionally, 55 boreholes with hand pumps were constructed, and 50 10,000-liter rain harvesting tanks were supplied to select schools. Piped water was also extended to 11 healthcare facilities. To increase the proportion of basic sanitation facilities constructed that meet the needs of women and girls, USHA recruited and trained 447 masons, 714 Sanitation Committee Members (SCMs), and 404 Sanitation Promoters (SPs) to implement the Market-Based Sanitation Implementation Approach (MBSIA) and Community-Led Total Sanitation with quality (CLTS+). At least half of all SPs and SCMs were women, and they received a monthly stipend and commission for each toilet sale completed. USHA also designed specific sessions focusing on the prevention of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and promotion of joint decision-making in sanitation facilities investments at the household level. The program partnered with BRAC Uganda to train an all-female community-level sales force of 500 Community Health Promoters (CHPs) for SATO toilet products, which they sold to households within their communities at a profit. The program's WASH in Schools intervention aimed to increase the availability of sanitation products and improve infrastructure that disproportionately affected girls in schools. USHA implemented a series of governance, service delivery, and Social Behavior Change (SBC) interventions targeting, among others, District Local Government (DLG) staff, school administrators, and teachers. USHA's gender and youth integration strategy aimed to increase access to water and sanitation among all population groups, particularly women and girls. The program conducted a rapid gender and youth assessment in 2019 to inform the design of the USHA Gender and Youth Strategy and Gender Analysis and Integration Matrix (GAIM) action plan. The assessment identified key challenges and opportunities for gender and youth integration in the program. The program's findings and recommendations highlighted the importance of integrating gender and youth considerations into WASH programming to ensure that services are equitable, accessible, and sustainable. The report provided actionable recommendations for supporting district local governments in delivering equitable WASH services, including enforcement of regulations and policies. USHA's implementation of the program's interventions resulted in significant achievements, including the installation of 1,640 household water connections, the construction of 55 boreholes with hand pumps, and the supply of 50 10,000-liter rain harvesting tanks to select schools. The program also trained 447 masons, 714 SCMs, and 404 SPs in MBSIA and CLTS+, and partnered with BRAC Uganda to train an all-female community-level sales force of 500 CHPs for SATO toilet products. The program's WASH in Schools intervention resulted in improved sanitation infrastructure and increased availability of sanitation products in schools. USHA's gender and youth integration strategy aimed to increase access to water and sanitation among all population groups, particularly women and girls, and provided actionable recommendations for supporting district local governments in delivering equitable WASH services. Overall, USHA's implementation of the program's interventions resulted in significant achievements and provided valuable lessons for future WASH programming in Uganda. The program's findings and recommendations highlighted the importance of integrating gender and youth considerations into WASH programming to ensure that services are equitable, accessible, and sustainable.