The Bono East Regional Environmental Health Officer, Mr. Gyan Lamptey, disclosed that 1,132 communities within the Bono East Region practiced open defecation. According to him, this translates into 87% of the regional population being guilty for practicing open defecation.
This reveals that only 13% of the communities that have access to decent toilet facilities in the region. Mr. Lamptey said only 215 out of the about 1,347 communities in the Bono East Region were open defecation-free.
Mr. Lamptey admitted and regretted that their position on the league table was not the best, and called on the Coalition against Open Defecation (M-CODe) to intensify advocacy for people to stop the practice to help improve on good environmental sanitation in the country and prevent the outbreak of diseases.
Mr. Lamptey, who described the situation as “worrying”, said there was the need for the collaboration of all stakeholders, as well as the right attitudinal change, to reduce the menace to the barest minimum.
Mr. Lamptey noted that open defecation was dangerous, and could cause destruction to human activities with its rampant sicknesses, including diarrhea, cholera and a host of other diseases.
He said that the menace was not only draining the economy, but also hindering the country’s growth and development, especially tourism, and encouraged the media to own the cause of championing the fight against open defecation.
The National Convener of M-CODe, Mr. Francis Ameyibor, said the coalition was formed in 2018, with the objective of building the capacity of the media to contribute to the campaign against open defecation in the country.
He noted the idea was inspired by the alarming situation of open defecation in Ghana and facilitated by World Vision International.
Statistics shows that some 5.5million Ghanaians defecate outside indiscriminately without using any toilet facility on a daily basis in Ghana. Mr. Ameyibor believes the practice has serious health implications and also undermines the dignity of the people.
“As a country, it affects tourism and creates all sort of illnesses; so we felt there was the need to bring the media together, there was already a corps of passionate Journalists or reporters who were always talking about open defecation in the country but they were doing so on individual basis, so we thought why not bring these people together so that we can develop a common voice to pursue a common agenda which will now get the needed attention than individuals trying to do their own stories on open defecation”, he said.
Mr. Ameyibor said the work of the coalition is to get the authorities to act to ensure there is a toilet where it is supposed to be for people to use and stop open defecation.
“So essentially our work as a coalition is to get the authorities on their toes, not only the political authority but everybody who is an authority, all leaders -it includes institutional heads, family heads, landlords, they are all leaders who have to act to ensure there is toilet where it is supposed to be for people to use and stop open defecation and to also contribute to dialogue in developing essential mechanisms or systems and institutions in place and to prevail on the authorities to get these things to end the menace”, he added
The Bono Regional Minister, Madam Justina Owusu Banahene, lauded the formation of the coalition, and stressed the regional coordinating council’s readiness to support their activities in the region.
The regional minister said the work of the coalition should help to transform lives. She further commended the journalists for showing interest and determination to partner with the civil society organizations to fight the canker in Ghana.
Madam Owusu Banahene reiterated that the government will continue to prioritize and earmark enough funding to the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, adding that sanitation must be a pivot around which all development must evolve.
She said ending open defecation in the country requires strong will and commitment, and asked the media to endeavour and bring issues of open defecation to the spotlight.
Madam Owusu Banahene charged Municipal and District Assemblies and traditional authorities to enforce bye-laws on sanitation to ensure that every citizen lives in a healthy environment.
