Ghana needs about $300million annually for sanitation- Bagbin

Accra, May 5, GNA- Mr. Alban Bagbin, Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, has indicated that Ghana would need between $200 million and $300million annually to fix the sanitation problems.

He said while Government was on the verge of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on water, it was becoming extremely difficult to make similar strides in sanitation, due to inadequate funding.

Mr. Bagbin was presenting the case of Ghana at the first high-level meeting on Sanitation For All Summit in Washington DC. The meeting, hosted by UNICEF with support from the World Bank, was attended by Ministers of Water and

sanitation from 13 developing countries. The United Kingdom and The Netherlands initially launched the progra= mme in September 2008, which now involves

17 donors, multi-lateral agencies, civil society organisations and other development partners. Mr. Bagbin said whereas 82 per cent of the Ghanaian population had access to improved drinking water supply, 20

per cent practised open defecation, with a much higher percentage engaged= in other insanitary acts. The Minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Nadowli West,=

told the meeting that even though the

challenge was daunting, government was up to the task. He stressed that the government would sustain the gains made so far in water, while addressing the needs of the

poor in low-income communities and yet-to be served areas. Mr. Bagin said the summit enhanced Ghana's potential for achieving t= he MDG target for water and sanitation by 2015

and called on stakeholders for support.