Uganda

UNICEF and the European Union July 1 launched a joint, four-year initiative to improve water and sanitation facilities in 21 districts across rural Uganda. The new project, launched in Kabarole district in western Uganda, aims to increase access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation facilities and to improve hygiene behavior, focusing mainly on rural schools, health centers and communities. Although access to safe water has improved in Uganda, many regions still have a poor record and diarrheal disease is the second leading cause of infant mortality after malaria. (UN News Service)