All hands on deck on sanitation - Aliu

Accra, April 30, GNA- Ghana's Sanitation Campaign Strategy was on Wednesday launched in Accra with a call on public and private sector, development partners, traditional rulers and civil society to reawaken their concerns towards addressing sanitation challenges in their various communities.

Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, who made the call noted that sanitary conditions in the country were nothing to write home about, pointing out that the situation was deteriorating each day with its attendant public health consequences.

"Data available in our health facilities indicate that over 60 per cent of all morbidity and mortality cases are water and sanitation related, especially those affecting children and other vulnerable people in our society," he added.

Alhaji Ahmed Awudu Yirimea, Deputy Minister off Local Government, Rural Development and Environment launched the strategy on behalf of the Vice President.

The United Nations has declared 2008 as International Year for Sanitation.

The primary objective of the campaign strategy is to have one national coordinating body, one national plan and one transparent monitoring and evaluation framework and the need to repackage sanitation as an essential component of poverty reduction and national development. The programme dubbed; "Sanitation for All" is under the theme: Re-packaging sanitation for accelerated national development," was organized by Coalition of Non Governmental Organisations in Water and Sanitation in collaboration with WaterAid Ghana.

Sanitation problems in the country's cities range from indiscriminate dumping of refuse in unauthorized places, including drainages.

Ghana is said to have ranked 48th position on a good Sanitation Chart for 51 countries on sanitation situation in Africa, according to UNICEF sources.

Alhaji Mahama noted that clean water and sanitation were not only about hygiene and disease but dignity.

"Many examples show that self-esteem begins with having a safe and proper toilet facility."

The Vice President announced the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and Environment (MLGRE), which has the mandate for sanitation has prioritized sanitation as a key area of action in the short, medium to long term plans and programmes.

"This is as a result of government's recognition that improving environmental sanitation was critical to the achievement of the socio-economic development of the nation," he added.

He said the Ministry has therefore set the pace by initiating number of programmes aimed at reversing the downward trend in the sanitation situation in the country.

These, he said included, revising the National Environmental Sanitation Policy, upgrading the Environmental Health and Sanitation Unit at the Ministry to a directorate, provide logistics such as transport, increase staff strength to reach out to all communities with education and enforcement of laws and regulations.

He therefore called on all to put hands on deck in funding sanitation services, which he said was capital intensive, adding that government alone could not tackle the problem.

Mr Stephen Ntow, Country Representative, WaterAid, Ghana said the event was to draw the attention to the plight of about 65 per cent of Ghanaians who did not have access to basic sanitation and needed to mange waste in all forms.

He said 2.6 billion people representing 40 per cent of world's population did not have access to sanitary facilities that provided with safety and dignity adding that, by 2004, only 65 per cent of Ghana's population had access to sanitation.

Quoting United Nations Sources, Mr Ntow mentioned that half of hospital beds at any time were occupied by persons suffering from water and sanitation related diseases worldwide and Ghana was not an exception. "Studies show that simply washing the hands at critical moments can reduce diarrhoea diseases by 40 per cent. The avoidance of health related care cost and lost of man hours also come as extra economic benefits," he pointed out.

The Country Representative for WaterAid therefore appealed to government, presidential aspirants and other persons seeking votes to occupy offices to priorities and invest reasonably in sanitation. He said WaterAid would continue to campaign locally and internationally to change policies and practices to ensure that water and sanitation's vital role in reducing poverty was recognized.

Mr. Demedeme Naa, a Director, Environmental Health and Sanitation Division (EHSD), MLGRDE said the sanitation issues posed the biggest challenges to government, and that by December last year the Accra Metropolitan Assembly alone owed waste contractors 10 million Ghana cedis.

Mr Kweku Quansah, a Director of EHSD, said the public should see sanitation as key determinant in improving their standard of living.