By Solomon Gumah
Tamale, April 02, GNA – The Center for Opportunities and Rural Development (CORD-Ghana), a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) operating in Northern Ghana, has underscored the urgent need to provide safe and accessible water supply for rural communities.
The Organisation which is working with marginalised communities to protect the environment, ensure food security and eliminate poverty, said although access to safe and clean water was a basic and fundamental human right.
However, millions of rural Ghanaians were still struggling to access safe drinking water with many relying on polluted rivers, ponds and unprotected wells, which were often contaminated with bacteria, parasites, and chemicals among others.
The concerns were raised in a press statement signed by Dr Kodimah Siita, the Executive Director, CORD-Ghana and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Tamale, as part of the commemoration of this year’s World Water Day celebration.
The statement said the lack of accessible and safe water for residents posed a serious threat to health, education and other economic opportunities, especially for women and children who spent hours searching for water daily.
It said “For years, the people of rural Ghana, particularly in the Northern Region, have faced acute water shortages, with the Ghana Statistical Service’s report (GSS, 2021), highlighting that less than 40 per cent of rural households in the region have reliable access to safe drinking water, while only 35 per cent benefit from improved sanitation facilities, and the consequences of this crisis are far-reaching affecting health, education, and economic growth”.
It said “Children, particularly girls, miss school to fetch water while women endure long hours carrying heavy containers, a task that leaves them exhausted and unable to engage in productive activities.”
It pointed out that waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and dysentery remained rampant, adding that the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2023) attributed over 70 per cent of hospital cases in rural Ghana to contaminated water and poor sanitation.
The statement said, prolonged exposure to unsafe water could also lead to parasitic infections like schistosomiasis and guinea worm disease, further exacerbating health issues and economic hardship in already struggling communities.
It attributed the obstacles to clean water accessibility in rural Ghana to multiple factors, including inadequate infrastructure with boreholes often breaking down due to poor maintenance, climate change, weak policy implementation and insufficient government funding hindered efforts to establish sustainable water systems.
It recognised that the challenges required a multifaceted approach involving innovation, policy advocacy, and grassroots mobilisation to ensure long-term water security for rural communities.
In tackling the water crisis, the statement called for innovative and community-driven solutions that offered reliable and affordable clean water, including solar-powered water purification systems, rainwater harvesting technology, low-cost filtration methods, community-ownership of water cooperatives and public-private partnerships and microfinance initiatives.
It further called for educational campaigns on water conservation and hygiene practices to further reinforce sustainable behaviours, reducing contamination risks.
GNA
EA/CAA