Water, sanitation and hygiene resource centre opens in Accra

Accra, Dec. 11, GNA - An organization that coordinates activities in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sectors on Thursday officially inaugurated their new office in Accra.

The Office named "WASH House" is host to eight organizations all working in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector and would serve as a knowledge resource centre. Dr Minta Aboagye, Director of Water at the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, who cut the tape to officially open the house, said the networks and coordination between the eight organizations had created a lot of vibrancy in the WASH sector.

He said even though Ghana was on target to achieve the Millennium Development Goal on water, the country had less than enough water to satisfy its citizens.

"Currently our water availability in Ghana is about 40 billion cubic metres," he said, explaining that one cubic metre of water was about 220 gallons.

Dr Aboagye, who is also the Acting Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), said the volume of water the country stored was limited compared to how the population grew. He therefore called on the organizations in the water sector to strengthen their alliances and complement government's effort in ensuring water sustainability. The organizations located in the WASH House are TREND Group, Tripartite Partnership Project, WASHCost, Safi-Sana Ghana Limited, Triple-S Project, SWITCH Project, RCN Secretariat, IRC and WARP, all non-government organizations working in the water, sanitation and hygiene sectors. The organizations work on managing information within the sector as well as help in the implementation of research outcomes. Mr Eugene Larbi, Managing Director of TREND Group, said the project started about five years ago with the aim of improving sector learning and knowledge management.

Describing the network as a knowledge space for the WASH sector, he invited organizations working in the sector and those who want information about the sector to contact the organization. Dr Patrick Moriarty in charge of IRC and WARP projects said the WASH house hoped to be a force for change in terms of knowledge sharing and learning about the water, sanitation and hygiene sectors in Ghana. He launched a book titled "Climbing the Water Ladder" that catalogues the multiple uses of water especially in the rural areas. "The book will be given to all organizations working in the water sector and there will be copies in the WASH library for people who want information about the water sector," he said. 11 Dec. 09