On the EarthDay22, April 2026 End Plastic Pollution Uganda reflects on women and youth as champions at the frontline leading to turn the tide on waste pollution and organizing communities towards a clean, healthier zero- waste future following the discussions of the CLIMATE ACTION SUMMIT 2026 at SINA/Jangu International Mpigi Uganda which centered on;
Driving Local Climate Solutions Through Youth and Women Innovators.
Uganda is experiencing increasing climate impacts, including erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts, severe floods and landslides, wetland degradation, deforestation and plastic pollution. These challenges threaten agriculture, water security, livelihoods and community stability. Women and youth are disproportionately affected but are also emerging as powerful innovators and leaders.
When we talk about climate change in Uganda, we are talking about the mothers in Kasese walking 3 extra hours for water after floods destroyed the nearby well, and youth in Bulambuli whose schools closed when a landslide buried the next village. 2024 was Uganda's worst year for Climate disasters and a total of over 78,000 people displaced, 413000 affected. The question isn't whether climate change is here. It's who has the answers that actually last.
Through the Zero waste training at EndPlasticPollution Uganda, youth and women are a crucial force in driving zero waste initiatives and creating a more sustainable future, because without them, the world is nothing. The urgent climate challenges affecting Uganda today are not abstract. It's daily and it's accelerating.
First, extreme weather is now routine. Floods, landslides and droughts displaced over 78000 Ugandans in 2024 alone. In November, a landslide in Bulambuli killed 20 people. In Kasese 7,000 people are still in shelters from floods that hit in 2020. When rivers burst banks, they don't just destroy homes - they spread plastic waste into farms and water sources blocking drainage and making the next flood worse.
Secondly, Food and water systems are breaking down. Women do 70 - 80% of farm labor, but erratic rains meaning crops fail and wells dry up. 80% of Uganda ‘s poorest households hit by floods or droughts lost income. The search for water now takes hours longer each day - time pulled from farming, school or earning money.
The climate and plastic crises are colliding, deforestation pushing families to burn plastic when fire wood runs out, filling kitchens with toxic smokes. Poor waste management choking the wetlands that used to buffer floods. For youths, this means growing up in communities where waste, disease and disasters overlap.
From work on ground, cheap achievable local solutions are emerging and Top - down projects often fail because they miss daily realities like poor waste management. The actual solutions that stick are already being built by communities through our zerowaste model, a model that views waste as a resource, therefore no waste is sent to dumpsites and landfills. Zero waste is not just a lifestyle but also a viable solution to the climate crisis today.
This starts right from our households to the community.
Youth and women groups at the Kollekt village are championing Zerowaste through Sorting at source, separate collection of waste, a transition to reuse and refill systems, BSF larvae farming, turning organic waste into compost which is a nutrient - rich soil amendment that has numerous benefits to the people and the environment at large.
Proven Community local based solutions at the Kollekt Village offset flooding and also reduce the accumulation of waste being dumped hence creating clean and healthier communities for people to live in.
CALL FOR ACTION
Youth and women have the passion, courage, adaptability and energy in driving zero waste initiatives and creating a more sustainable future. Let's embrace Community based Local Solutions. Remember: we cannot solve the climate crisis with the same attitude we had when we created it.
