Uganda’s monthly National Cleaning Days require dedicated government funding, stronger waste management systems and greater public participation to deliver lasting improvements in sanitation, the Ministry of Health has said.
Cate Namyalo, a senior environment officer at the Ministry of Health, said the initiative had raised public awareness of sanitation-related diseases and encouraged collaboration among government agencies, communities and private sector players. However, she noted that significant implementation challenges remained.
Speaking at a reflection workshop on the programme, Namyalo said local governments were struggling with inadequate cleaning equipment, protective gear, waste transportation and disposal facilities, limiting their ability to sustain the cleaning exercises.
“We need to establish standardised reporting and verify results from participating local governments,” Namyalo said, noting that some local authorities submitted reports late while others failed to report altogether.
She emphasised the need for clear performance indicators to measure public participation, the volume of waste collected, the number of institutions involved and the sanitation hotspots addressed during each exercise.
Namyalo also called for monthly cleaning activities to be incorporated into the work plans and budgets of ministries, departments and agencies, as well as local governments. She argued that the programme could not rely indefinitely on voluntary contributions if it was to achieve sustainable results.
She urged authorities to strengthen partnerships with private waste collectors, civil society organisations and development partners to improve waste collection, transportation, recycling and safe disposal.
The officer warned that cleaning exercises risked producing only temporary results if collected waste was not promptly transported to designated disposal sites.
“We clean, the places are clean, the streets are clean, but then, after you drive for about one kilometre, you find a heap of waste all over there,” she said, highlighting the need for functional waste management systems to sustain the gains made during the exercises.
Namyalo further urged local councils to mobilise residents, assign responsibilities within communities and coordinate sanitation activities beyond the designated national cleaning days.
She said the participation of political leaders was important but stressed that their involvement needed to translate into lasting behavioural change among households and communities.
The Ministry of Health also called for sustained radio and television campaigns to promote sanitation across the country, emphasising that cleanliness should become a daily practice rather than an activity undertaken only once a month.
Namyalo said stronger coordination among the Ministry of Health, the Office of the Prime Minister and local governments would be critical to monitoring progress, addressing implementation challenges and ensuring that the National Cleaning Days programme delivers lasting improvements in public health and environmental sanitation.