By Solomon Gumah
Tamale, Sept. 07, GNA – The toilet facility at the Aboabo Market in the Tamale Metropolis is in a deplorable state raising issues of health concerns amongst its users especially women.
The facility, besides being unhygienic, does not have changing space for menstrual hygiene management.
This came to light following a visit by the media to the facility to assess its state, as part of this year’s Ghana Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Week.
The Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS) in collaboration with the Media Coalition Against Open Defecation (M-CODe) held the 2025 Ghana WASH Week with activities including the dissemination of a new standard for reusable menstrual pads.
The 2025 WASH week was on the general theme: “WASH for a Healthy Ghana, Everyone, Everywhere,” while M-CODe adopted the theme: “Dignity for all, toilets for all: End Open Defecation Now.”
The annual event seeks to promote public awareness of WASH issues and advocate greater investment in resilient sanitation systems, equitable access to these facilities, and sustained partnerships to achieve national and global WASH goals.
Miss Fahimatu Mohammed, a student, who supports her mother at the market, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that she avoided using the facility during her menstrual period.
She said, “When I am in my menstrual period, I prefer to go home to change because it is not conducive at the facility in the market, and one could even end up getting infections.”
Madam Mary Mbabilah, a trader at the market, expressed similar frustration saying although users paid to use the facility, the conditions remained poor.
She said the situation had encouraged open defecation in the market while some traders resorted to using enclosed spaces to change their sanitary pads.
The traders appealed to government to intervene to improve WASH facilities at the market, emphasising that better sanitation would not only protect their health but also restore dignity to women and girls working and trading in the area.
GNA
Edited by Eric K. Amoh/ Christabel Addo