By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Bolgatanga, Oct 28, GNA – A water source intervention dubbed “Securing Water Access Project (SWAP)” has been launched in Bolgatanga, as part of efforts to respond to climate change effects on water resources and vulnerable communities.
The 36-month climate resilient initiative is part of the WaterAid Ghana, a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) focused organisation’s country strategy to strengthen communities’ access to WASH services and climate resilient water resources in the Upper East Region.
The SWAP intervention is set to address the significant challenges faced by communities in five districts located within three sub basins in the Upper East Region due to the impacts of climate change on water resources and WASH services.
The US$1 million project funded by the AB InBev Foundation will benefit the Bawku West, Nabdam, Bongo, Kassena-Nankana West districts and Kassena-Nankana Municipal.
Through an innovative water security approach combining community water resource management with private sector WASH services, the project would deliver resilient and continuous access to safe drinking water for the most underserved, water scarce communities in the Upper East Region of Ghana.
Through the collaboration of state and non-state stakeholders, the project, which is targeting 500,000 people, also seeks to contribute to national climate adaptation goals by empowering marginalized groups including women and youth through fostering community-led water management solutions and advocating for policy reforms that integrate WASH into national climate strategies.
By establishing the Climate Resilience WASH Fund and advocating policy integration, SWAP aims also to ensure sustainable, inclusive access to clean water, positioning community-based water security as a cornerstone of climate adaptation efforts in Ghana.
Speaking at the launch of the project in Bolgatanga, Mr Gift Luwe, Senior Programme Manager, WaterAid United Kingdom (UK), said the project sought to build the capacities of communities to secure sustainable water resources and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
“This initiative reflects WaterAid Ghana’s commitment to creating lasting, scalable impact, aligning with national priorities, to improve livelihoods and health outcomes in one of the nation’s most vulnerable regions”, he said.
He said climate change was real, and its impact was devastating on almost all sectors, adding that a recent climate vulnerability and resilience assessment report stressed the urgent need for the involvement of local communities to inform WASH inclusion into national and district adaptation plans.
He said apart from the capacity building and advocacy interventions to increase awareness of climate change threats, influence local action and resource allocation to WASH issues, the project would also be investing in some technical equipment to enable the communities to capture and generate data on rainfall within a specific period to help make informed decisions.
Apart from that, he said the project would be working with various stakeholders particularly the Water Resources Commission to monitor underground water, adding “it is a community initiative, and we expect the communities to own it and ensure full participation.
We are rolling out this project as a model and we feel when well implemented, we can learn lessons from it and replicate it to not only across the other districts in the region but also other regions and WaterAid operational areas”, he added.
In a speech read on his behalf, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper East Regional Minister, said the project was a significant milestone towards strengthening efforts to address WASH challenges especially underserved communities whose plight had been worsened by the effects of climate change.
He commended WaterAid Ghana and its partners for the intervention and urged the beneficiaries to own the project to provide the relief to vulnerable people especially women and children.
“Let us provide the needed leadership and support required to ensure the smooth implementation of this project as it seeks to enhance the education, health and economic opportunities as well as contribute to the region’s achievements of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly goal six”, he stressed.
GNA