Alhaji Collins Dauda, Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, has vowed to take decisive actions to stop the destruction of water bodies by illegal miners.
In recent years many more people have gained access to an improved water supply; unfortunately access to sanitary facilities is still lagging behind. One of the biggest challenges is how to sustain these newly built water facilities and make sure that people have continuous and reliable access to a supply of good quality water in sufficient quantities.
Head of Policy and Partnership at WaterAid Ghana, Ibrahim Musah has argued that observing hand washing with soap before eating and after using the toilet regularly could save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention. It is also the most effective way to avert Disability-adjusted Life Years (DALYs) associated with diarrheal diseases. “Hand washing is also less expensive than immunization; for instance, one DALY requires investment in measles immunization anywhere from $250 to $4,500.” Mr. Musah added it would also reduce deaths from diarrheal by almost half and deaths from acute respiratory infections by one-quarter.
WaterAid Ghana, a non-governmental organisation, has hailed the declaration by the United Nations of November 19 as ‘World Toilet Day’, saying it will use the commemoration of the day to draw the attention of government to the gravity of the country’s sanitation problem.
“We’ll certainly be working with private sector, civil society organisations, academia and others to use ‘World Toilet Day’ to draw attention to governments of the enormous scale of the problem,” Dr. Afia S. Zakiya, WaterAid Ghana’s Country Representative said in a statement.
Beginning today in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, is the 3rd annual general meeting of the West Africa Water and Sanitation Journalists Network (WASH-JN).
“The division of toilet blocks between students and teachers is not fair!”, this was the frustration of Ms Destina Samani , the Country Director of Water and Sanitation for Africa, Ghana. Ms Samani complained that , it was not fair to give two separate blocks of toilet facilities to teachers of eight whiles over four hundred pupils share four facilities. According to her this was the case in most public basic schools in Ghana, which leaves these pupils with inadequate access as their numbers exceed the facilities available to them hence the unhygienic state of the facilities, coupled with the improper maintenance culture
The development of a group of people is said to be in their own hands and the key driver of this assertion is Behavior Change. Behavior change communication (BCC) has therefore become very important in achieving WASH sector policy and strategic objectives. In Ghana, there are some stories of successful attempts of WASH BCC strategy implementation. However, there more stories of some failed attempts.
Over a thousand people took part in a walk for water and sanitation in Accra, Ghana on Saturday, March 23 and also to commemorate World Water Day, which was marked globally on Friday, March 22, 2013.
The Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, in collaboration with the Water Resources Commission and the United Nations, has held a symposium to commemorate the 2013 World Water Day in Accra.
