GHANA will prioritise access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in schools and health facilities across the country, an official has said.
Deputy Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Amidu Issahaku Chinnia, said this during a day’s multi-stakeholder discussion on boosting WASH access in the country Wednesday.
The discussion, organised by Christian Charity World Vision International sought to provide the platform for stakeholders to discuss the steps needed to bridge the gaps in service delivery and meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets for the sector.
Chinnia said the government’s focus on WASH access in schools and health facilities was to create a conducive and healthy environment in these institutions and promote general wellbeing among Ghanaians.
He added that ‘this is a holistic approach to health and well-being by ensuring the availability of safe and sustainable WASH services in critical institutions and among vulnerable groups.’
‘It is regrettable that many schools and health care facilities lack access to basic WASH services,’ said the deputy minister.
He added, ‘From now on, any school facility we are developing must have WASH facilities to ensure access to safe and sustainable WASH services in schools.’
The deputy minister added that the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources had already consulted with the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, and the Ghana Education Trust Fund to ensure that all contracts for new school facilities consider the need for safe WASH facilities.
He said the government was also holding discussions with the World Bank, the Ministry of Education, and the Ghana Education Service, to develop sustainable management guidelines for the WASH facilities in schools.
‘It is not just about constructing them because if we construct these WASH facilities and we do not find sustainable ways of managing them, they collapse within a short period,’ he said.
Chinnia added that the WASH sector would also collaborate with the Ghana Health Service to ensure that all health facilities have adequate, safe, and sustainable WASH facilities to support safe health service delivery.
‘I also urge the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (local government administrations) to collaborate with the Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service to improve the WASH situation in all health institutions within their jurisdictions.’
The theme for the discussion was: Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) and Sustainable WASH Service Delivery.
Speaking on behalf of civil society players in the WASH sector, Dickson Thunde, National Director of World Vision Ghana, one of the largest charitable institutions in the WASH sector in Ghana, underscored the need to strengthen MMDAs to help Ghana achieve sustainable WASH services under the SDGs.
He said the local government administrations hold the mandate by law to plan, implement, and deliver development interventions, including WASH services within their jurisdictions.
‘No development strategy can ignore the vital requirement of citizens in respect of safe drinking water and improved sanitation services,’ Thunde stated.
Ghana’s access to safe drinking water stood at 87 percent and 25 percent for improved household toilets as of 2021, according to the Ghana Statistical Service.
Koku Devitor