By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Bongo (U/E), Nov. 26, GNA – The Bongo Traditional Council and WaterAid Ghana have reaffirmed their commitment to working with relevant stakeholders, to ensure that every household in the Bongo District has a toilet facility, as part of efforts to end open defecation.
The two parties pledged to collaborate with divisional and sub-chiefs, as well as opinion leaders, to intensify education and enforce sanitation by-laws to ensure that every household constructs a toilet facility within the next five years.
The assurance was given during a high-level engagement between the Bongo Traditional Council and WaterAid Ghana, a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)-focused organisation, as part of the annual World Toilet Day celebration held on the theme: “Sanitation in a Changing World.”
The engagement, facilitated by WaterAid Ghana, aimed at strengthening collaboration on the Bongo Sanitation Challenge, an initiative jointly agreed upon and signed by WaterAid Ghana and the Bongo Traditional Council, to eliminate open defecation within five years.
The Bongo Sanitation Challenge seeks to ensure that traditional leaders spearheaded the fight against open defecation by educating, inspiring, and influencing communities and households to own toilet facilities and promote environmental cleanliness.
Currently, only 63 out of the 168 communities in the Bongo District had been declared open-defecation-free, with concerns that some of them risked relapsing due to broken latrines.
Naba Baba Salifu Atamale Lemyaarum, the Paramount Chief of the Bongo Traditional Area, expressed worry over the slow progress, noting that less than half of the communities had attained open-defecation-free status and called for collective action to address the sanitation challenges.
“Not even half of the communities have achieved open-defecation-free status, and this is not acceptable. That is why we are committed to working with WaterAid Ghana and other relevant stakeholders, including the District Assembly, to achieve the target,” he said.
Pognaba Christiana Nge, the Paramount Queen mother of the Bongo Traditional Area, stressed that access to a toilet facility was not only a right but a necessity for every household and emphasised that women and girls were disproportionately affected by the lack of these facilities and urged residents to take sanitation seriously.
“We must ensure that we clean our environment and households because poor sanitation and lack of toilet facilities pose serious health risks, especially to children and women,” she said.
Ms Fauzia Aliu, the Advocacy, Campaigns and Inclusion Manager of WaterAid Ghana, commended the Traditional Council for its leadership and commitment to improving sanitation in the district and for helping shape positive social norms that protect community well-being.
She reiterated WaterAid Ghana’s mission of ensuring that no one was left behind in accessing clean and safe water, toilet facilities, and good hygiene for holistic growth and wellbeing.
“We know this cannot be achieved by government and development partners alone. It requires the wisdom, influence and commitment of our traditional leaders, who are custodians of our culture and champions of community behaviour change. This is why the Bongo Sanitation Challenge is important.
“It is a bold initiative that seeks not only to improve sanitation infrastructure but to inspire a district-wide movement for cleaner environments, healthier households and stronger community resilience,” she said.
Mr Abdulai Mumuni, the Bongo District Environmental Officer, noted that toilet coverage in the district stood at about 30 per cent, and commended WaterAid Ghana for its continuous support over the years.
He said the Bongo Sanitation Challenge would significantly boost the Assembly’s efforts and urged traditional leaders to influence their subjects to help end open defecation.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali / Christabel Addo