UGANDA BREAKS NEW GROUND BY PRIORITIZING WATER AND SANITATION IN CLIMATE PLANS
The East African country is the first to develop a water and sanitation-specific National Adaptation Plan
AS GOVERNMENTS RACE TO MEET THE 2025 DEADLINE to update their climate action plans under the Paris Agreement, Uganda is setting itself apart by placing clean water and sanitation at the heart of its climate agenda.
The East African nation is among the few that have explicitly included climate priorities on water and sanitation in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) — the official climate action roadmap each country submits to the United Nations. This builds on its 2022 update, which integrated water and sanitation into climate policy for the first time.
Now, Uganda is going a step further: finalizing what is expected to be the world’s first water and sanitation-specific National Adaptation Plan (NAP). The plan outlines how the country will adapt its water and sanitation systems to withstand climate shocks such as floods, droughts, and rising temperatures, which have become commonplace in recent years.
“To protect our communities, it’s not enough to simply rebuild water points and toilets after each disaster,” said Martha Naigaga, Senior Environmental Health Officer at Uganda’s Ministry of Water and Environment. “We need to fundamentally transform how we plan, implement and manage water and sanitation services to anticipate and adapt to the impacts of a changing climate.”
Water and sanitation are inextricably linked to climate change, but they have largely been overlooked in national climate plans. Research co-led by the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) partnership and the Stockholm Environment Institute found that only a small percentage of the NDCs submitted by countries as of May 2024 prioritized water and sanitation as key climate issues.
“Our analysis showed that out of more than 8,000 activities included in NDCs across all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), only 7% were related to the water and sanitation targets under SDG 6,” said José Gesti, SWA’s Senior Climate Advisor. “And when you zoom in on that 7%, a mere 2% of those activities were specifically focused on sanitation.”
"TO PROTECT OUR COMMUNITIES, IT’S NOT ENOUGH TO SIMPLY REBUILD WATER POINTS AND TOILETS AFTER EACH DISASTER.”
PROGRESS THROUGH PARTNERSHIP
Uganda’s decision to prioritize these essential services represents a significant shift in thinking, and one that could help reshape how countries build resilience to climate threats.
Uganda’s shift didn’t happen in isolation. International collaboration, particularly through the UNICEF-hosted Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) partnership, has played a key role. In the lead-up to the 2022 SWA Sector Ministers’ Meeting, Uganda conducted a national climate vulnerability assessment focused on water and sanitation. The results were sobering: 40% of the population relies on shallow wells vulnerable to drought and contamination, while 80% use pit latrines, which often collapse during floods. The economic damage is enormous, with climate-related costs amounting to as much as 4% of GDP.
“This risk assessment was a wake-up call, and it directly informed Uganda’s revised NDC,” Naigaga says. “While our previous NDC didn’t consider water and sanitation a priority, the updated version identified water and sanitation as a priority sector for adaptation and resilience-building.” The assessment’s findings were also key to Uganda’s pledge to create a water and sanitation specific NAP, Naigaga adds.
"WE NEED TO FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORM HOW WE PLAN, IMPLEMENT AND MANAGE WATER AND SANITATION SERVICES TO ANTICIPATE AND ADAPT TO THE IMPACTS OF A CHANGING CLIMATE.”
COUNTERING THE TREND
Uganda has further adopted a sector-wide definition of climate-resilient water and sanitation services, which was developed late last year with support from SWA to establish a shared understanding and framework for action.
Uganda’s WASH and Climate Task Force is now rolling out diverse climate resilience solutions across the country. These include solar-powered water systems and flood-resistant latrines, as well as efforts to strengthen institutions, communities, and ecosystems that support long-term resilience.
The Task Force is also tackling emissions from the water and sanitation sector. Mitigation efforts range from bio-latrines in schools — which capture methane and convert it into clean cooking fuel — to modern wastewater treatment plants equipped with anaerobic digesters that prevent methane from reaching the atmosphere.
Integrating water and sanitation into national climate policies has been key to mobilizing funds for these initiatives. “Water and sanitation services are delivered by local authorities, but they rely on financing from the central government,” explains Naigaga. “By mainstreaming water and sanitation in our NDC and NAP, we’ve been able to earmark more resources for local governments to invest in adaptation and mitigation measures.”
With the clock ticking toward the next round of NDC submissions, Uganda’s example is drawing international attention. It shows how countries can go beyond rhetoric and embed essential services into climate policy.
“Governments have a chance to build genuine resilience,” Naigaga said. “This isn’t just about infrastructure. It’s about protecting our people.”
