Customer perceptions and implementation of pro-poor safe water interventions in Uganda's urban areas

This paper presents findings from the study on water user customer perceptions and the implantation of pro-poor safe water interventions in Uganda’s urban areas. It was a cross-sectional study conducted in six urban towns. A total of 341 household respondents, mostly buying water from public water points participated. Most water consumers from public water points were satisfied with the sources and quality of water. Some perceived the water as safe to drink without first boiling it. However, some consumers believed their water was contaminated and others it being hard. Most water customers never participated in establishment of the sources and neither were they consulted in setting water tariffs. With regard to the pro-poor water and sanitation strategy, key informant respondents such as the private water operators were unaware of its existence while those who were knowledgeable were blunt about its content due to inadequate dissemination and clearly defined concepts. This study recommends that to any pro-poor strategies be well disseminated to all service providers and have clear implementation frameworks to track performance. In addition, of all service users at all stages of service provision, inclusive of setting tariffs to avoid exploitation from vendors at the public water points is fundamental.