By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Zorko-Kodorogo (U/E), Dec. 9, GNA – WaterAid Ghana, a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)-focused organisation, has commissioned newly constructed and upgraded WASH infrastructure valued at more than GH₵3.15 million across several healthcare facilities in the Upper East Region.
The WASH infrastructure included water-closet toilet facilities to enhance maternal and child health, water systems, incinerators, adolescent health corners, and other sanitation-related facilities aimed at improving health outcomes.
The investment is expected to benefit an estimated 56,635 people in communities such as Zorko, Nyariga, Navrongo, Chuchuliga, Kanania, Wuru, and Kobdema.
The intervention, implemented in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service and the District Assemblies, forms part of the Sexual Health and Reproductive Education (SHARE) project led by Right To Play and supported by WaterAid Ghana, the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) Ghana, and FHI360.
The five-year project is funded by Global Affairs Canada.
The SHARE project seeks to enhance inclusive, sustainable, and gender-responsive WASH-related services in healthcare facilities to improve the quality of care for women, girls, and children.
The initiative also advances WaterAid Ghana’s strategic objective of ensuring improved access to inclusive and sustainable WASH services while strengthening quality care, particularly for women, adolescents, and young people.
Ms Augustina Dechegme Achigibah, Programme Manager for WASH in Public Health at WaterAid Ghana, noted that the investment formed part of the organisation’s commitment to supporting healthcare facilities with reliable water systems, improved sanitation, and functional incinerators at all levels.
She said the intervention aimed to improve infection prevention and control, ensuring safer service delivery for patients and health workers while providing equitable access to quality, safe, and adolescent-friendly sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services.
“The commissioning of these facilities reinforces WaterAid Ghana’s long-term priority of elevating WASH standards in healthcare to improve maternal, newborn and child health outcomes.
“It also strengthens national and district systems for sustainable WASH and infection prevention and control service delivery and advances gender-responsive, inclusive care, especially for girls and young people,” she said.
The Programme Manager urged health facility management and community members to maintain the facilities to ensure they achieve maximum impact.
Ms Estella Abazesi, the Bongo District Director of the Ghana Health Service, commended WaterAid Ghana for its continued support to the district, noting that the partnership has contributed significantly to improving healthcare delivery.
Naba Adendaa Awamyelum, Chief of Zorko-Kodorogo, expressed gratitude for the support and pledged the community’s commitment to maintaining the facilities to enhance their lifespan.
Mr Simon Akurugu Atanga, Zorko District Leader of the Ghana Health Service, explained that both health workers and clients previously struggled with sanitation and hygiene due to the lack of appropriate facilities.
He stressed that the new WASH facilities would not only boost maternal and child health but also help health workers observe infection prevention and control practices, contributing to overall improved health outcomes.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Christian Akorlie