local governments, by-laws have been put in place to enforce compulsory primary education. Government has continued to construct new primary schools throughout the country to enhance access to primary education. Many of these schools received funds for procurement of furniture, equipment and instructional materials. The Ministry of Education and Sports has also introduced a double shift system in order to address the problem of student - teacher ratios. 2.4.8 Uganda has made progress in construction of health facilities at subcounty level and improvement of facilities in health units throughout the country. The Health sector has continued to rehabilitate and improve health services across the country. Over the past year, government has invested in strengthening infrastructure across the country, including the rehabilitation of 10 Regional Referral hospitals, namely: Masaka, Lira, Soroti, Fort Portal, Jinja, Gulu, Hoima, Mbale, Mbarara, and Kabale. 2.4.9 Government has made proposals towards introducing alternative financing for enabling improved access to health care for the poor and the vulnerable and marginalised groups through the proposed National Health Insurance system. Ministry of Health (MoH) has finalised the drafting of the Uganda Social Health Insurance Bill. It will soon be tabled in Parliament for debate. 2.4.10 The Tree Fund has been established as a means to promote tree planting in Uganda to ensure that fragile ecosystems like rivers, lakeshores and bare hills are protected. To ensure collective participation, national tree planting days are: 8th March (Women‟s Day); 21st March (World Forest Day); 1st May (Labour Day) and 12th August (Youth Day) every year. Through the Farm Income Enhancement and Forestry Conservation Project, Government is also planting trees in water catchment areas and degraded areas outside Central Forest Reserves. Government is also working with the private sector to plant trees, for example, through the Sawlog Project, among others. 2.4.11 Government has also invested significantly in the improvement of access to safe water sources. The percentage of rural population with access to safe water in a reasonable range of 1km is estimated to have increased to 63percent in the last year, while those within 1.5kms increased to 65percent. While the urban water service coverage is currently at 77percent, the household sanitation service coverage is estimated at