A recent report indicates that 8 in 10 households (80) per cent of households in Nakulabye do not have private toilets despite the fact that the suburb is one of the most populated areas in Kampala.
That was revealed as the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA, Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED) in partnership with the Norwegian Refugee Council and other agencies undertook an area-based multi-sector needs assessment there in February and June 2018.
In the report, 28 per cent of the households reported that the quality of basic services available to them was poor, with community leaders saying that poor waste management which has resulted into blocking of the drainage channels. They it is a key public concern, contributing to increased risks of floods.
The report says that Nakulabye has refugees and Ugandan nationals having access to the same basic services, although refugees reported greater barriers to access them. “For example, school-aged children who are part of refugee-headed households are more likely not to attend schools than others, which is mainly attributed to difficulties in paying school fees,” it adds.
“The lack of income is indeed the key concern reported by residents of Nakulabye, and it appears that, based on the median weekly income, refugee-headed households earn slighltly more than Ugandan-headed households. The female-headed households remain less wealthy compared to their male counterparts, regardless of their status,” it adds.
In face of financial difficulties, the report says, households in Nakulabye tend to use similar coping strategies, although refugee-headed households tend to rely more on help from relatives. The vast majority of the refugees in Nakulabye feel well integrated within their host community, and even tend to feel safer than nationals.
Both nationals and refugees tend to report similar answers when it comes to challenges affecting the whole community, namely insecurity and lack of economic opportunities.
School attendance:
According to the report, 15 per cent of school-aged children (7-17 years old) residing in Nakulabye were not attending school, as revealed by the random household survey. Refugee headed households reported that 33 per cent of children of the same age group were not attending school. “Inability to pay school feees is the most common reason given by both households and Key Informants for education facilities to explain school non-attendance and drop-out,” says the report.
Health services:
In addition 10 per cent of the households in Nakulabye reported that the quality of the water sources was not good enough to drink and 33 per cent of communal taps were constructed directly by the community.
Most commonly used health care providers as pointed out are; public health centres, private health centre hospital and Pharmacy respectively. 38 per cent of the health centres had no professional doctor among their staff according to Key informants.
The assessment which saw partners expand to other areas of Kampala was meant to better localise and understand the needs and conditions of access to services for refugees and other vulnerable populations living in vulnerable urban neighborhoods.
The report defines Nakulabye as; a vulnerable urban neighborhood in Kampala. It lies in Rubaga Division. The neighborhood comprises 9 cells, the lower administrative unit for urban settings in Uganda. It is home to vulnerable socio-economic population groups, including refugees.