ONLY 14% OF GHANAIANS HAVE ACCESS TO IMPROVED SANITATION … says WHO report
From Ernest Best Anane, Kumasi
ONLY 14% of Ghana’s population have access to improved sanitation against the 54% target that would have enabled the country to meet MDGs goal in 2015, a report from Joint Monitory Platform (JMP) of World Health Organization (WHO) has indicated.
According to the report, the average population lacks access to improved sanitations in the various regions including Upper East – 80%; Northern 80%; Upper west70% and Greater Accra 18%, while Ashanti region falls below 10%.
Mr. Ibrahim Musah, Head of Policy and Partnership, revealed this at a two day’s workshop organized by Water and Sanitation for Urban Poor (WASUP) and Water Aid Ghana for Ghana Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) Journalist Network in Kumasi.
According to him, 82% of the entire population has access to potable water which he said will achieve the MDGs target for safe drinking water.
He said Ghana is off-track for the sanitation MDG and has to raise national coverage from 13% (2008) to 54% by 2015 and urged authorities to accelerate the provision of improved sanitation.
“If we achieve this target, 46% of our population will still be without access to improved sanitation, although we made progress on the provision of improved water, 22% of our population will still be without improved drinking water by 2015, and for that matter we need to invest more to sustain gains and improve services to the unsaved poor”, he noted.
He said Sanitation and Water for All is a partnership bringing together governments, donors, civil society and multilateral organizations at both global and national levels with the aim of ensuring that all people have access to basic sanitation and safe drinking water with specific focus on those countries.
Mr. Musah explained that the Ghana Governments is committed to improve sanitation for approximately 10 million Ghanaians between 2010 and 2015 to using improved sanitation facilities from 14% in 2010 to 54% in 2015.
He said Ghana will continue the drive towards sustainable universal access through improvement in services and water quality, and revising and reinforcing the Ghana Compact in line with the country’s needs and capacity as an emerging middle income country.
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