BRAC Intern Naishin Fu writes about water, sanitation and hygiene in Uganda

by Naishin Fu
BRAC Uganda Intern

This summer, between my first and second year of my Masters Degree in Public Health at Harvard, I spent 10 weeks working with BRAC Uganda in the Research Department.

My past experience has been concentrated in the HIV/AIDS sector and the Asia region, but I am interested in broader public health issues globally and wanted to do something completely different than I had done previously. I was excited to learn that BRAC Uganda is interested in starting a new water, sanitation, and hygiene program (WASH), as I have developed a recent fascination with the oh so glamorous world of sanitation, and needed someone to do some background research to inform program design.

Due to limited time and the backseat that sanitation usually takes in WASH work, I decided to focus my research on sanitation in Uganda. Although BRAC Bangladesh has been operating a WASH program for a few years now, an assessment of the current state of sanitation, community needs and perceptions, and appropriate technologies is necessary to develop an appropriate program for Uganda.

My research consisted of a literature review and key informant interviews to gather existing knowledge and information on sanitation, followed by field research in five BRAC branches to get community feedback. By far the field research was the most interesting, where I was able to talk to Community Health Promoters, microfinance groups, and also community members not affiliated with BRAC.

During my field work, most of the communities expressed frustrations with local sanitation, including the poor condition or lack of latrines, improper waste management, and drainage. It was something non-sanitation related that struck me the most though. While everyone was happy to share their thoughts and feelings, many were wondering what would come of all these questions, if it would result in any changes in their lives. They have become wary of researchers from NGOs because time and time again they have seen people come through, ask similar questions, and then disappear, never to be seen again. I believe that while they are willing to answer all of our questions, they do not expect any results to come of it. It is my hope that BRAC will help break this cycle of inaction and in time will be able to implement sustainable, innovative, and beneficial sanitation programs in its branches. I greatly enjoyed working on this project, and wish that I could have gone more in depth than my 10 weeks allowed. However, I do plan to use this research for my Master’s thesis, so am looking forward to working more on this topic throughout the next school year and sharing anything new with BRAC!

Microfinance group in Bugiri, Uganda

Interviewing a CHP in Bugiri, Uganda