Women and Access to Water in Rural Uganda: A Review

In Uganda, water (or the water sector) is recognized as key in achieving economic growth and development, and maintaining a healthy and economically productive population. Access to water is a prerequisite to improved health, livelihoods and overall well - being of men, women and children, particularly among the poor and agrarianrural populations. Rural commu- nities, comprising an estimated 26 million people or about 85 percent of the entire population of Uganda (UBOS 2010), are faced with higher levels of poverty, dependency, illiteracy and poor health, among other issues. According to the recent Na- tional Household Survey, rural communities account for 94.4 percent of the nation’s poor households (about 7.1 million per- sons) and close to a half (48%) of households in the two lowest income classes (UBOS 2010)