Abstract:
Water and sanitation are fundamental for living, wellness, self-regard, empowerment and
prosperity. They are human rights, basic to every child and adult. But in Uganda, poor
sanitation and hygiene, as well as unequal access to safe drinking water, make thousands of
children very sick and at risk of death. Furthermore, in Uganda, close to a tenth of the
population practises open defecation and two thirds of households do not wash hands with
soap. Poor people mostly carry the burden of poor sanitation. Like most cities and towns in
developing countries, Busia town is experiencing rapid urbanization leading to an increase in the
urban population and rapid growth in the size and number of informal settlements. More than 60% of the town’s population resides in these settlements, where they experience inadequate and poor-quality urban services including sanitation. In terms of sanitation, majority of the dwellers in these
settlements use traditional pit latrine technology, which is considered cheap given their level of
income. The provision of appropriate facilities for defecation is also an essential response for
people’s dignity, safety, health and well-being. By understanding geography and people's
relationship to location, we can make informed decisions about the way we live on our
planet. This research applied geographic information system and Spatial Multi-Criteria
Evaluation tools for decision making in the siting of the suitable areas for Water, Sanitation
and Hygiene facilities based on the following criteria; Slope, lithology, soil, Depth to
groundwater table, Population density, Accessibility, and Proximity to Handwashing
facilities. In order to achieve this, each of the criterion will have its relevant thematic layer
generated and assigned weights that will be calculated using Analytical Hierarchy Process
and followed a weighted overlay analysis to ascertain the suitability of the area for the
intended use. The study area will be zoned into Four suitability classes; Very, Moderate,
suitable and least suitable. Conclusively, the combination of Geographic Information System
and Spatial Multi Criteria Evaluation has shown to be a fruitful tool in land suitability
evaluation.
Keywords
Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Geographic information systems, Multi Criteria Evaluation,
Suitability, Criteria, Weight, Sensitivity Analysis, Analytical Hierarchy Process.
