By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Bolgatanga, May 14, GNA – Four District Assemblies in the Upper East Region have signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with World Vision Ghana to strengthen collaboration towards achieving universal access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services in their respective districts by 2030.
The agreements were signed by the District Chief Executives (DCEs): James Ayamwego for Bawku West, Mr John Abugba Abaare for Garu, Ms Anne Musah for Builsa South, and Mr Joseph Mbilla for Tempane District Assembly. Mr Robel Wamisho, Associate Director for WASH at World Vision Ghana, signed on behalf of the organisation.
The signing formed part of a regional stakeholder engagement and dissemination meeting on Universal Service Coverage under the organisation’s WASH Business Plan, themed: “Mapping the Blue Thread.”
Speaking after the signing in Bolgatanga, Mr Wamisho described the MoUs as an important milestone in efforts to ensure sustainable access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene services in the beneficiary districts.
He said the agreements would serve as living documents to guide planning, resource mobilisation and implementation of WASH interventions in collaboration with the assemblies and other stakeholders.
“As we have witnessed during the earlier presentations, the districts that have come here today have shown significant commitment to realise the implementation of the Universal WASH programme in their respective districts,” he said.
Mr Wamisho explained that the initiative aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal Six, which seeks to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water, sanitation and hygiene for all by 2030.
He noted that the WASH Business Plan, launched in November 2025, recognised water, sanitation and hygiene as critical enablers for health, nutrition, education, child protection and livelihoods. He therefore called on district-level stakeholders and partners to support the initiative and ensure the sustainability of facilities provided under the programme.
“Building infrastructure is one thing, but sustainably managing them for the long term is another thing,” he stressed.
Mr Joshua Richard Baidoo, Strategy and Integrated Programme Director of World Vision Ghana, said access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene services remained essential to health, dignity, education and economic growth.
He said the organisation’s new five-year strategy, dubbed “Hope for Every Child,” aimed to support 2.8 million children in Ghana by 2030 to grow up healthy, educated and empowered in safe and resilient communities.
Mr Baidoo said the Universal Service Coverage programme was one of the key interventions designed to help address child malnutrition, disease prevalence, poor sanitation and weak learning outcomes among children.
He added that achieving universal WASH coverage would require innovative financing approaches, stronger partnerships and collective commitment from assemblies, government and development partners.
“World Vision believes that provision of water and sanitation services is the responsibility of the assemblies and government, and we are here to partner you to deliver these services,” he said.
Mr Cephas Wedam, Programme Manager for Universal Service Coverage at World Vision Ghana, explained that the programme sought to ensure that at least 90 per cent of people in the operational districts had access to basic WASH services by 2030.
He said the intervention targeted hard-to-reach and underserved communities, described as the “last mile” areas.
Mr Wedam disclosed that preliminary assessments indicated that achieving the targets in each beneficiary district would require investments of more than one million dollars annually up to 2030.
He noted that although some progress had been made in access to water, sanitation and hygiene coverage in the districts remained low and required urgent attention.
According to him, the partnership would focus on implementing WASH infrastructure projects, promoting sustainable behavioural change, strengthening systems and introducing innovative management approaches such as water facility insurance schemes.
He said the assemblies were expected to support community mobilisation, provide locally available resources and collaborate with World Vision Ghana to ensure successful implementation of the programme.
All four DCEs affirmed their commitment to supporting the partnership to deliver improved WASH services to residents in their respective districts.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Audrey Dekalu
Reporter: Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Email: [email protected]