POOR TOILET FACILITIES IN ACCRA METROPOLIS
A 23-page report on the state of sanitation in the Accra metropolis has revealed that most households and schools lack the basic water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, most importantly, toilet facilities.
This was made known when the Ghana Watsan Journalists Network, a non-profit organisation with focus on water, sanitation and hygiene, presented the report to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly after a year-long campaign dubbed “Drop it in a whole”.
The report, which was compiled as part of activities marking World Toilet Day 2010 by the GWJN with assistance from Water Aid Ghana, aimed at assessing and highlighting the state of sanitation conditions and facilities in some selected low income communities in Accra.
According to the Co-ordinator of GWJN, Mr Peter Serinye, filth has a devastating effect on the nation's economy as official sources indicate that the nation spend at least US$ 700 million annually, treating malaria.
He said it was necessary to understand that unsanitary conditions did not only harm those who created them but all people who lived in the same environment.
"The fact is that basic sanitation is currently non-existent in most of our communities. It is for this same reason that Ghana is lagging behind in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on environment and sanitation," he stressed.
Mr Serinye added that it was imperative that the necessary measures were taken to address the poor sanitation situation in the country, since good sanitation conditions had a correlation with good health which went a long way to maximise productivity and development in the country.
According to the Deputy Director of the AMA, Mr Ayidzoe Divine, the AMA is utilising 90 per cent of the common fund on sanitation.
He added that the AMA was also making efforts to address sanitation and waste management problems in the metropolis.
For this reason, he said, the AMA had established the sanitation courts to address the indiscriminate dumping of wastes in the communities by summoning households which lacked the basic sanitation facilities, especially toilets, in order to reduce the pressure being mounted on public toilets.
He said the AMA was also embarking on a millennium city project to ensure that basic households and schools had the needed sanitation facilities.
The former Executive Secretary of the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), Mr Patrick Apoya, commended GWJN for embarking on such a project to ensure that basic water and sanitation was available to all.
He said "it is unfortunate that the older ones are cutting short the life of the younger generation due to negligence".
He added that it would be the irresponsible on the part of the government to turn a blind eye on a report that highlighted the issues of sanitation and water in our communities.
According to Mr Apoya, the report raises the issues of accountability because various institutions have been put in place to ensure that water and sanitation is made available to all.
He therefore called on law enforcement agencies to rally behind the AMA to ensure that the problem was salvaged.
According to the report, a common characteristic of households, most especially compound houses, was the lack of toilet facilities due to lack of space for the construction of toilets and poor access routes for septic vehicles to gain passage to empty septic tanks.
“It was also common that landlords or ladies were not ready to provide toilet facilities, while many tenants were expecting government intervention,” the report stated.
During the study, it was also gathered that patronage of public toilet facilities ranged between 200 and 1,500 users per day most likely due to location and population density, as well as the number of facilities available in the community.
The report also stated that access to toilets in the low income areas were limited to public toilets, which were under poor hygienic conditions and offered their users little privacy.
GWJN, therefore, recommended that the existing by-laws in the assemblies’ books be reinforced.
Also, alternative sources of water could be provided for the communities in order to promote the use of household flush toilets.
Most importantly, the GWJN recommended that politics should be de-emphasised in the management of public toilet facilities.
This was made known when the Ghana Watsan Journalists Network, a non-profit organisation with focus on water, sanitation and hygiene, presented the report to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly after a year-long campaign dubbed “Drop it in a whole”.
The report, which was compiled as part of activities marking World Toilet Day 2010 by the GWJN with assistance from Water Aid Ghana, aimed at assessing and highlighting the state of sanitation conditions and facilities in some selected low income communities in Accra.
According to the Co-ordinator of GWJN, Mr Peter Serinye, filth has a devastating effect on the nation's economy as official sources indicate that the nation spend at least US$ 700 million annually, treating malaria.
He said it was necessary to understand that unsanitary conditions did not only harm those who created them but all people who lived in the same environment.
"The fact is that basic sanitation is currently non-existent in most of our communities. It is for this same reason that Ghana is lagging behind in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on environment and sanitation," he stressed.
Mr Serinye added that it was imperative that the necessary measures were taken to address the poor sanitation situation in the country, since good sanitation conditions had a correlation with good health which went a long way to maximise productivity and development in the country.
According to the Deputy Director of the AMA, Mr Ayidzoe Divine, the AMA is utilising 90 per cent of the common fund on sanitation.
He added that the AMA was also making efforts to address sanitation and waste management problems in the metropolis.
For this reason, he said, the AMA had established the sanitation courts to address the indiscriminate dumping of wastes in the communities by summoning households which lacked the basic sanitation facilities, especially toilets, in order to reduce the pressure being mounted on public toilets.
He said the AMA was also embarking on a millennium city project to ensure that basic households and schools had the needed sanitation facilities.
The former Executive Secretary of the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), Mr Patrick Apoya, commended GWJN for embarking on such a project to ensure that basic water and sanitation was available to all.
He said "it is unfortunate that the older ones are cutting short the life of the younger generation due to negligence".
He added that it would be the irresponsible on the part of the government to turn a blind eye on a report that highlighted the issues of sanitation and water in our communities.
According to Mr Apoya, the report raises the issues of accountability because various institutions have been put in place to ensure that water and sanitation is made available to all.
He therefore called on law enforcement agencies to rally behind the AMA to ensure that the problem was salvaged.
According to the report, a common characteristic of households, most especially compound houses, was the lack of toilet facilities due to lack of space for the construction of toilets and poor access routes for septic vehicles to gain passage to empty septic tanks.
“It was also common that landlords or ladies were not ready to provide toilet facilities, while many tenants were expecting government intervention,” the report stated.
During the study, it was also gathered that patronage of public toilet facilities ranged between 200 and 1,500 users per day most likely due to location and population density, as well as the number of facilities available in the community.
The report also stated that access to toilets in the low income areas were limited to public toilets, which were under poor hygienic conditions and offered their users little privacy.
GWJN, therefore, recommended that the existing by-laws in the assemblies’ books be reinforced.
Also, alternative sources of water could be provided for the communities in order to promote the use of household flush toilets.
Most importantly, the GWJN recommended that politics should be de-emphasised in the management of public toilet facilities.
very nice and simple sir. hats off to you for making the details so simple that even a child can understand.
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