World Toilet Day: Ghana must pay critical attention to sanitation

The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has made an urgent call on all and sundry to critically pay attention to issues of sanitation and commit to finding solutions to those issues.

Speaking at the Global Toilet Day, which was observed on Friday, November 19, the sector minister charged every household without toilet facility to get one from now onwards.

According to her, it is instructive that the UN since 2013 has declared access to safely managed toilet as a human right.

In Ghana, the event was marked in Kumasi at the Jubilee Park on the theme: "Stop open defecation, own a household toilet."

"It is an acknowledged fact that in a community where people don't have access to well managed toilet, every other person's health is under threat, this is because poor handling of faecal matter contaminates our drinking water, and leads to outbreak of various diseases". Madam Abena Dapaah added.

"With this, government of Ghana have secured $74m to build about 30,000 household toilets and 120 disability friendly fit for purpose, institutional toilets which schools shall also not be left out in the Greater Kumasi".

In the Greater Kumasi area, some selected MMDAs - Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), Suame Municipal, Kwadaso Municipal, Oforikrom Municipal, Old Tafo Municipal, Asokore Mampong Municipal and the Ejisu Municipal are to initially kick start the project.

On his part, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Simon Osei Mensah, also added that making access of toilet facilities available to deprived communities within a broader government policy of ensuring sustainable sanitation shows commitment of sustainable goal 3.

There was also a float by all the eight Assemblies under the Greater Kumasi through low income communities and principal streets to create demand for the household toilet component of the  Greater Kumasi Sanitation and Water Project.