IUIU in Partnership with UNATCOM – UNESCO Completes ICESCO Funded WASH Project in Eastern Uganda
- 23rd May, 2022 12:00am
- 3 minutes read
PROJECT BACKGROUND:
In 2021, The Islamic World Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) launched a program for Improving Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Services (WASH) in 1,000 rural schools in several countries of the Islamic World, including Uganda, Senegal, Morocco, and Mali. In the framework of Uganda National Commission for UNESCO (UNATCOM) and ICESCO partnership, UNATCOM awarded the project implementation contract to the ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY IN UGANDA (IUIU). UNATCOM identified 10 rural schools in 3 Eastern Uganda districts (i.e Bugiri, Luuka, and Kaliro) that were in dire need of handwashing facilities, and were therefore to serve as the first beneficiary schools in Uganda. The contract awarded to IUIU was UGX 67,000,000/= (Sixty-Seven Million Uganda Shillings). IUIU as Service Consultant implemented the project under Kampala Campus�s Motion Analysis Research Laboratory (MARL). MARL together with the department of pharmacology of IUIU�s Habib Medical School had earlier on won a similar grant of USD 20,000 (Twenty thousand US dollars) from ICESCO, to scale production of the automated hands-free handwashing dispensers and instant hand sanitizer, as IUIU�s response solutions to COVID-19 pandemic.
THE TASK:
IUIU as a service consultant through MARL, was to deliver 10 hand-washing station each with capacity to serve up-to 5 pupils at a time, as a well as a rain harvesting component with a 3000-litre tank. The facilities were to be installed in the 10 identified schools in the districts of Kaliro, Luuka, and Bugiri, with each school receiving one handwashing facility. Additionally, each school was to receive 1 wheeled dustbin of 120-litre capacity, to be used by female students to aid in the proper disposal of sanitary pads. The beneficiary schools include: - Bugiri District (Buwunga Primary School, Butumba Primary School, Nakawa Primary School), Luuka District (St.Kizito Kawanga Primary School, Buyunze Primary School, Bukanga Primary School, and Nakabugu Moslem Primary School), Kaliro District (St. Philips Nawaikoke College, St. Luliana Namajje Primary School, and Namwiwa Senior Secondary School).
PROJECT STATUS:
PROJECT IMPACT:
The total population of the 10 beneficiary schools at the time of commencement of this project was 9392 students/pupils. As highlighted in the baseline surveys conducted by UNATCOM � UNESCO, the beneficiary schools were way below the ideal 1:40 handwashing facility � student ratio as nearly all the schools lacked a single handwashing facility. Considering this ratio, the implemented project has therefore filled the gap of 50 handwashing points since each handwashing facility has 5 handwashing points, thereby catering for at-least 2000 students/pupils. �Though still behind the ideal situation, the impact of these handwashing stations will go a long way in improving the hygiene and sanitation of the beneficiary schools thereby creating a better learning environment�, said Dr Umar Yahya, the Project Lead and Head of MARL. As the service consultant, IUIU is proud to be a part of this impactful life intervention by ICESCO in partnership with Uganda National Commission for UNESCO (UNATCOM). This further highlights the impactful role of IUIU as an Institution of Higher Learning in bridging communities since 1988.
