| dc.description.abstract | Access to a safe and continuous supply of water for drinking and domestic purposes is an essential prerequisite for health. An inadequate water supply as a result of poor access or quality, low reliability, high cost, or difficulty of management is an indicator of unhealthy and low standards of living (Paul et al., 2010). Water is one of the most important necessities to mankind, however, limited access to safe drinking water is one of the problems affecting billions of people around the world (Hesperian Foundation, 2005). This is particularly so in the developing countries where level of access to water and water related facilities are said to be very low (Ademiluyi & Odugbesan, 2008). Many millions of people, in particular throughout the developing world, use unreliable water supplies of poor quality, which are costly and are distant from their home (WHO/UNICEF, 2019). Across the globe, 2.1 billion people access to safe, readily available water at home (JMP, 2017). Of the 2.1 billion people who do not have safely managed water, 844 million do not have even a basic drinking water service. The Government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Water and Environment, is committed to a policy for increased provision of safe water supply and adequate sanitation to the whole population in accordance with the Vision 2040 sectoral targets (MoWE, 2018). Access to safe water and hygienic sanitation facilities provides a solid foundation for prosperity for all. The institutions responsible for water and sanitation service delivery in Uganda have undergone tremendous reform since the 1990s, with a marked improvement in their capacity and level of professionalism. This, coupled with steady investments in water supply infrastructure over the last 30 years, has led to a remarkable improvement in access to safe water supplies in rural and urban areas (WSP, 2011). This is to be achieved through construction of piped water systems to increase access to clean and affordable water within communities such as Bwambara Parish, which is located in Bwambara Sub County of Rukungiri district in South Western Uganda. The access rates in Rukungiri vary from 83 % in Nyarushanje Sub-County to 95 % in Buyanja Sub-County. Rukungiri has 2,304 domestic water points which serve a total of 274,105 people – 261,185 in rural areas (MoWE, 2020). Bwambara Sub County has a population of 25,940 population. The water coverage consists of 83-point water sources whose functionality is at 81%, and one piped water supply system. Within the sub county, parishes such as Bwambara parish are particularly water stressed with no piped water system. To improve the coverage and access to safe water in the Sub County, there is dire need for more piped water systems in the area. | en_US |
