Nation needs 4 million toilets in 6 years to achieve SDG

Ghana will need to construct four million toilets in the next six years to achieve the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Six – Access to clean water and sanitation for all.

Some stakeholders in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector said achieving that feat would require targeted investment in sanitation infrastructure.

Those who made that observation are the National Coordinator of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area Water and Sanitation Project (GAMA-SWP), George Asiedu, and the Executive Secretary of the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), Basilia Nanbigne.

The 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) had revealed that only 25.3 per cent of the country’s population had access to improved sanitation that was not shared while 17.7 per cent of Ghanaians still practised open defecation.

With the country’s current population being over 33 million, it means that 24.7 million people do not have access to improved sanitation facilities while over 5.8 million defecate in the open.

Against that backdrop, they stressed that for the country to stand a chance of achieving SDG 6, more commitment must be made in the establishment of WASH infrastructure.

This was stated in separate interviews with the Daily Graphic during the inauguration of a training centre for the construction of bio-digester toilets at Ada College of Education (ADACOE) in the Greater Accra Region last Monday.

Bio-digester training centre

A Deputy Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Amidu Chinnia Issahaku, cut the tape to open the facility at a ceremony that was attended by chiefs from the Ada Traditional Council, the staff and students of ADACOE and representatives of the six beneficiary district assemblies – Ada East, Ada West, Central Tongu, North Tongu, South Tongu and Ningo Prampram.

The centre was built by the World Bank-funded GAMA-SWP in collaboration with the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and ADACOE to be used for the training of artisans who will be equipped with expertise and certified to construct bio-digesters across the country.

For a start, 160 staff and students of the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) department of ADACOE will be trained to serve as trainers of the artisans.

Good initiative

Mr Issahaku said the construction of the facility was significant because the biggest challenge in the sanitation sector was the lack of infrastructure, particularly for the management of both liquid and solid waste.

He gave the assurance that the sanitation ministry would give the centre the needed support to run effectively to help eradicate the phenomenon of quacks who were taking advantage of the acceptance of bio-digester technology to construct substandard facilities.

For his part, Mr Asiedu said the bio-digester centre at ADACOE was the first of many training facilities that would be established at strategic locations across the country.

“We have a gap of over 4 million toilets to build for Ghana to achieve SDG 6 in the next six years.

Most of the toilets will be bio-digesters because so far, 98 per cent of the toilets built under GAMA-SWP are bio-digesters.

We cannot compromise on quality and that is why this centre is very important,” he said.

He added that as part of strategies to promote the bio-digester technology, 500 artisans were trained in Kumasi and more would be trained at the newly inaugurated facility.

Coverage

Ms Nanbigne said although the country had achieved 87 per cent water coverage, more work remained to enhance the chances of achieving SDG 6.

The Principal of ADACIE, Professor Prince Boateng, said the construction of the centre was a step in the right direction, given that the college was one of the eight institutions specialising inTVET.