Campaign to free Northern Region of open defecation starts

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR), has begun a campaign to help eliminate open defecation in the Northern Region.

Dubbed “Social Norm Campaign Against Open Defecation,” it is aimed at creating awareness of the need for the people to act in a manner that will safeguard their health and safety.

It started in the Northern Region because the region bears a greater portion of the burden of poor sanitation, with over 32 per cent of the population engaged in open defecation.

The campaign, which will cover other regions of the country, is being implemented with support from the governments of the Netherlands and Canada.

Launching

At the ceremony in Tamale last Wednesday, the sector minister, Mr Joseph Kofi Adda, called on the general public to make the fight against open defecation a shared responsibility by standing up against people who indulge in it.

“It is unacceptable and a disgraceful act. I urge you all to assist the ministry and its stakeholders to fight the menace by reporting people who engage in the act to the right authorities, since the ministry alone cannot win the fight,” he added.

Mr Adda said the government had committed itself to improving access to sanitation in the country and that was the reason for the prioritisation of the implementation of the community-led total sanitation (CLTS) to support sanitation at the school and household levels.

“We have observed with grave concern the way our communities are engulfed with filth, especially plastic waste, and the poor attitudes of the greater number of our citizens towards sanitation and hygiene has not made it any better,” he said.

Nation’s business potential

The minister said no investor would be ready to invest in a country that was not clean.

“Sanitation is no doubt the nation’s business potential and it plays an influential role where foreign investors will set up their businesses and spend their money,” he added.

He urged metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to enforce laws on open defecation and ensure the availability of household toilets in their areas of jurisdiction.

The Northern regional Minister, Mr Salifu Saeed, in his welcome address, said there could not have been a better place to launch the campaign because the region recorded the second highest rate of open defecation in the country.

He, however, stated that the region had been making improvements in the sanitation coverage and reducing open defecation.

He commended the MSWR and UNICEF for embarking on the campaign and also pledged the support of the people in making their efforts a reality.

For her part, the representative of UNICEF, Madam Margaret Gwada, said UNICEF was determined to support the government’s efforts to make the country open-defecation free.