By Gifty Amofa GNA,
Accra, Nov.3, GNA – The Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS) has called for urgent universal coverage of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services that are climate-resilient and sustainable.
“The efforts must also include reaching the last mile, which includes people and places too often excluded from reliable services: deprived rural communities, small towns, peri-urban areas, and informal settlements in urban areas”.
Madam Beata Awinpoka Akanyani, the CONIWAS Chairperson, said this during the opening of the MOLE XXXVII National WASH Conference in Ada.
Akanyani said markets health facilities, schools, among other public spaces are crucial rights holders in WASH service provision in accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals mantra of “Leaving No One Behind.”
“Our measure of success must be whether these communities experience tangible, lasting improvements in their daily lives,” she said.
The Chairperson said what stands out for last-mile communities, includes the lack of basic water for one out of four rural residents, with only 17 percent having access to safely managed water.
Moreover, she said the Local Government Ministry reported basic water at 96.4 percent for urban areas against 74.4 percent for rural areas, representing a 22-point gap.
“Rural hygiene has gone down with basic hygiene from 36 percent in 2015 to 31 percent in 2024 whereas open defecation is concentrated in rural areas.
Quoting the 2021 Census she put the national rate at 17.7 percent, 31.3 percent rural and 8.9 percent for urban areas.
Madam Akanyani said most households still share toilets, as 2021 captured 74 percent of households lacking exclusive use of improved toilets.
“These figures should compel us to act with urgency, with fairness, and with a clear commitment to climate resilience,” she urged.
The MOLE National WASH Conference is an annual platform where government and Civil Society Organisations converge to discuss issues of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).
The theme for this year’s MOLE Conference is “Accelerating Climate-Resilient WASH Service Delivery for Last-Mile Communities: Options, Strategies, and Actions, and the CONIWAS chair commended the government and its partners for the progress the country has made in the WASH sector and the landmark interventions that demonstrate a deepening political commitment to WASH.
She lauded the government for the decision to raise the District Assemblies Common Fund allocation for WASH to 20 percent, with 10 percent for potable water and 10 percent for environmental sanitation.
“This bold step recognizes the central role that the local government must play in improving WASH outcomes,” Madam Akanyani added.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah