Mayuge district authorities have taken the fight against jiggers a notch higher.

At least Shs 180m has been set aside this year to buy vaccines to contain the parasites, district Chairman Omar Bongo Muwaya said. Like many districts in Busoga sub-region, Mayuge has suffered the full brunt of the epidemic since 2010.

Muwaya Bongo said regrettably that Shs 180m would have been spent on more demanding development programmes if the public had heeded calls to maintain good hygiene and sanitation.

"People need to realize that these fleas are a result of poor hygiene and sanitation and so improve accordingly even before foreign forces come in," he said last week, while closing a three-month home and village improvement campaign in Bukatube sub-county.

"The money will be used to purchase drugs, and pay volunteers and health teams who will reach out to the affected and infected communities to administer treatment," the chairman said.

The home improvement campaign was spearheaded by a local NGO, Busoga Trust, which mobilized the community to improve their household hygiene. Busoga Trust official Loy Mwanjuzi asked local leaders to involve NGOs in planning meetings.

Mwanjuzi also urged parents to educate their children to help them live better lives.