Residents of Akania in dire need of potable water

The lives of people in Akania, a predominantly farming community in the Upper East Region is being threatened by high fluoride content in their main source of drinking water.

The excessive concentration of fluoride had caused the colorization of teeth among majority of the people.

Most women on the other hand have lost their pregnancies with some giving birth to deformed children as a result of high fluoride intake of fluoride.

Radio Ghana’s Isaac Asare with the support of WaterAid Ghana had visited the area to assess the severity of the situation.

Akania is a small rural community under Kayoro which is located in the Kassena-Nankana West District.

The highly displaced settlement is surrounded by four other neighboring communities including Beyun and Adungo.

With a population of One thousand, and forty five, the area is faced with lack basic infrastructure with potable water high on their priority list.

Both the young and the old commute long distances in search of water for consumption and other domestic use.

Though the community can currently boast of three boreholes, two have remained dysfunctional and have different levels of fluoride.

The other which serves as their main source of drinking water, equally contains high fluoride.

From this deep groundwater, the concentration of fluoride far exceeds the WHOs water consumption levels of 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per litre.

Fluoride is known to have both beneficial and adverse effect on humans depending on the level of intake.

Experts say high fluoride has the potency to cause mild or severe degree of dental fluorosis also known as browning of the teeth.

Moreover, the presence of high-fluoride in water comes along with myriad of health challenges. It is established that excessive consumption of fluoride water over time weakens the bones and causes induced premature abortion and deformities in children.

A visit to the community exposed the ugly side of the excessive fluoride content in their water.

Quite worrying is the fact that students spend long hours in search of water at the time they are supposed to be in school.

According to 15 year old Nibonwe Cletus and Okaishah Seidu both students of Kayoro Junior High School, the lack of potable water is having a serious toll on their education and would require urgent attention by government to address the situation.

Currently the people of Akania largely depend on this groundwater where they have to dig up to a level before they can access water.

The water here is murky and unclean for consumption but the community is helpless.

Radio Ghana chanced on a situation where a scuffle ensued between two elderly women who battling their way to fetch water.

This we were told had been the usual situation because during harmattan water is difficult to come by.

Therefore for the people of Akania, the quest for water is a matter of life and death.Speaking to Radio Ghana, Madam Calina Ayabajam who was involved in the said fracas, painted a true picture of the water situation and echoed the urgent need for government to come to their aid in order to save lives.

The Chief of Akania, Pe Adu Bapuri also told our news crew that the water crisis has made it difficult for the community to construct and maintain their latrines.

Pe Bapuri hinted that although government through the district assembly had been informed about the development, they are yet to receive favorable response from them.

He therefore called on the assembly to heed to their distress call.

Meanwhile, WaterAid Ghana which is into water, sanitation and hygiene education has on the interim explored actors and improved technologies needed to assist communities with high fluoride.

Despite the move, it is handicapped with limited resources.

In view of this, a Policy Manager at WaterAid Ghana, Chaka Uzondu has challenged government to ensure greater allocation of resources for WASH services in districts with peculiar challenges such as Bongo and Kassena-Nankana West.