Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja has urged Ugandans to make cleanliness a daily habit, warning that poor sanitation continues to expose communities to preventable diseases.
Nabbanja made the call on Saturday while leading ministers, Members of Parliament and residents of Hoima City in the third National Cleaning Day exercise.
The exercise, which began at 7am, brought together residents, local leaders and government officials to clean streets and public spaces across the oil city.
Nabbanja said the decision to hold the national exercise in Hoima was deliberate because the city is preparing to host matches during the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
“The whole world is looking at Hoima,” Nabbanja said, stressing that the city must be clean and well organised before visitors arrive from Uganda, Africa and beyond.
She said the exercise was not simply about collecting rubbish, but about changing people’s attitudes towards waste disposal and taking personal responsibility for the environment.
Nabbanja urged residents to stop dumping rubbish on roadsides, in drainage channels, wetlands and other unauthorised places.
She encouraged residents to collect their household waste and leave it at designated collection points for garbage trucks to pick up.
The Prime Minister also challenged Minister in charge of Science, Technology and Innovation to explore ways of turning waste into an economic opportunity instead of merely separating and disposing of it.
Nabbanja said cleanliness should become part of people’s routine rather than an activity reserved for National Cleaning Day.
“75 percent of the disease we have in Uganda is preventable,” she said, arguing that keeping communities clean can reduce the burden on health facilities.
She announced that the next National Cleaning Day will be held on October 31, 2026, in Lira City in northern Uganda.
Dr Herbert Nabaasa, Commissioner for Environmental Health Services at the Ministry of Health, said the government was using the cleaning campaign to tackle diseases associated with poor sanitation.
He cited diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery and malaria among diseases that can be reduced through better hygiene and environmental management.
Nabaasa said Uganda loses children to diarrhoeal diseases and warned that rubbish left in communities can create breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
“By just cleaning, we are able to prevent” a significant proportion of preventable diseases, he said, urging communities to take cleaning as a personal responsibility.
Hoima City East Division MP Dr Patrick Isingoma Mwesigwa said residents had responded enthusiastically, with people joining the exercise not only in the city centre but also in surrounding communities.
He said a clean environment could reduce disease and, in turn, reduce the amount of money government spends treating preventable illnesses.
Hoima City Woman MP Asinansi Nyakato thanked residents for turning up in large numbers and urged them to maintain the momentum beyond the national exercise.
“Starting with yourself, the mind, your home, the community where you’re coming from. Don’t just litter anyhowly,” Nyakato said.
She said Hoima must become a model clean city ahead of AFCON 2027.
Nyakato also reported progress on projects linked to the tournament, saying expansion works at Hoima Regional Referral Hospital had reached about 75 percent, while work at the AFCON facilities at Boma Grounds was also at about 75 percent.
She urged contractors to meet their deadlines, particularly on the expansion of the Hoima-Busunjju road and health infrastructure.
For Tadeo Atuhura, Head of Communications at the Microfinance Support Centre, cleanliness is also an economic issue.
He said businesses cannot thrive in unhealthy environments because customers are less likely to patronise dirty and unsafe places.
The centre, he said, supports entrepreneurs through affordable credit and capacity building, but healthy surroundings are equally important for businesses to grow.
The third National Cleaning Day was attended by several ministers, including Mary Mugasa and Jordan Asiimwe, Inspector General of Police Abas Byakagaba, Members of Parliament and local leaders from the Bunyoro sub-region.
The government has designated the last weekend of every month as National Cleaning Day, with officials calling on Ugandans to treat cleanliness as a daily responsibility rather than a once-a-month activity.
