Need to review planning of urban centres - Siabi

Koforidua, July 12, GNA - Mr Worlanyo Siabi, Eastern Regional Water and Sanitation Engineer, has stressed the need for a review of planning in urban centres especially with housing to compel landlords to provide sanitary facilities for tenants to improve sanitation. He noted that Ghana could not achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), "unless we re-start differently and implement concrete actions to address the situation". Mr Siabi made the call when presenting a paper on Sanitation and Hygiene at the 19th Mole Conference on Sanitation at Koforidua in the Eastern Region. The three-day conference organized by Coalition of NGO's in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS) was to collaborate for a multi-sectoral approach towards expanding and accelerating sanitation issues to achieve the MDGs goals.

He said available statistics in a World Health Organization (WHO) report indicated that 62 per cent of Africans were without any form of toilets while latrine coverage in the Eastern Region was lower than 14 per cent. Mr Siabi said the figures pointed to a bleak situation on the continent and unless higher latrine coverage was promoted by ensuring a re-planning of existing facilities, Ghana would continue to be plagued with serious health problems. He noted that options in promoting sanitation partly depended on rainwater harvesting but that had been hampered because improper disposal of solid water was affecting the quality of rain water in the country. "The quality of harvested rainwater depends substantially on environmental sanitation, waste collection, disposal and management, but the major contaminant is faecal matter or waste carried onto roofs of buildings by birds or crawling animals," he said. Mr Siabi said when remedial actions were taken, it could help promote rain harvesting which was much better than a borehole facility. 12 July 08