By Anthony Adongo Apubeo, GNA
Kadare (U/E), Oct. 16, GNA – WaterAid Ghana, a water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) focused organisation, has handed over WASH and nutrition facilities to the Kadare and Beo-Tankoo communities in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region, to improve access to safe water, sanitation and healthcare services to residents.
The facilities included two solar-powered water systems, two disability-friendly sanitation facilities, rehabilitated healthcare infrastructure and two demonstration vegetable gardens.
The project targeted vulnerable groups, particularly pregnant and nursing women, adolescent girls and children under five, to improve their health and nutritional well-being.
The facilities were provided under the 12-month WASH-Nutrition Plus (WN+) Project, implemented from September 2025 to August 2026, at a cost of US$300,000 and funded by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through Latter-day Saint Charities Australia.
Speaking at a ceremony to hand over the facilities in Kadare, Mr Mohammed Adokor, the Head of Programmes at the WaterAid Ghana, said the intervention demonstrated the importance of collaboration in addressing water, sanitation and nutrition challenges in underserved communities.
Mr Adokor said one of the water systems served the healthcare facility, the neighbouring school and a demonstration garden, while the other supplied the wider community.
He said the sanitation facilities had separate sections staff, with the female facility also having a changing room for menstrual hygiene management, while the male facility included a urinal.
The main and maternity blocks of the healthcare facility were also rehabilitated and fitted with improved WASH facilities.
Mr Adokor said the project established demonstration vegetable gardens in Kadare and Beo-Tankoo, where women’s groups received training in agronomic practices, product packaging and market linkages.
He said the project distributed more than 300 assorted WASH kits to households in the two communities and established a 25-member School Health Club at Kadare Primary School.
Additionally, five Community Information Centres were retooled across the district to support hygiene behaviour change communication, while more than 1,200 information, education and communication materials were distributed.
The project also influenced 139 households across Kadare, Beo-Tankoo and the Zorko sub-district to construct and use climate-resilient household toilets through the Bongo Sanitation Challenge initiative.
In all, 3,044 people benefited from the interventions.
To ensure sustainability, Mr Adokor said the Kadare Water and Sanitation Management Team had been transformed into a community-based social enterprise and named “Kadare Asungtaaba Kosum Enterprise” to manage the water system professionally.
He urged community members to take ownership of the facilities and support their maintenance, including paying for water services.
He also called on the Bongo District Assembly and other stakeholders to honour their commitments under the Bongo district WASH Compact signed about a year ago.
Mr Adokor announced that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had approved an additional US$300,000 to support the next phase of WASH and nutrition interventions and expressed gratitude to the Church, the District Assembly, the Ghana Health Service, traditional authorities and beneficiary communities for their support.
Mr Michael Achuliwor, the Head of Kadare Health Centre, said the WN+ Project had eased access to water, improved his confidence at work and enhanced security, particularly when working at night.
Ms Estella Abazesi, the District Director of Health Services at Bongo, commended WaterAid for its support over the years.
“The WASH facilities and renovation of health facilities will enable healthcare workers to provide dignified health services to our people, and we are very grateful to WaterAid for the gesture, particularly because they are always breaking their own records, all to our benefit,” she said.
Naba Baba Salifu Atamale Lemyaarum, the Bongo Paramount Chief, expressed gratitude to WaterAid.
He pledged his commitment to safeguarding the facilities for generations.
Mr Akamugri Donatus Atanga, the Upper East Regional Minister, commended WaterAid for lifting the burden on the government by providing safe drinking water to rural communities and pledged to create an environment conducive to its work.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Email: [email protected]