THE Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) of UNICEF Ghana, David Dancun, has revealed that about 7,500 children die annually from diarrhoea in the country.
Attributing the situation to poor hygienic practices in the country, he says the nation is off track in achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on sanitation. He says further that the situation is so bad that Ghana has been named among the 10 worst countries in the world together with fragile states such as Chad, Somalia and South Sudan, in the area of poor hygiene.
Speaking on behalf of development partners in WASH at the ongoing 25th Mole Conference in Accra, Mr Dancun noted that only one in eight Ghanaians regularly washes the hands, adding that a challenging result is the outbreak of cholera which has claimed over 200 lives.
He pointed out that Ghanaians are good at making commitments and not at working towards the realization of the commitments. The WASH chief mentioned some of the commitments as Ghana government�s renewed commitment to Sanitation and Water for All at the Washington high-level meeting in April 2014, greater focus on efficient, sustainable service delivery, funding and accountability, improved sector coordination and improved private sector engagement and capacity building.
He observed that key commitments by the Ministry of Finance at the high-level meeting were likely to be fulfilled. However, progress since the April meeting had been slow, he added. He said development partners were willing to lend support toward the achievement of sanitation goals.
The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Julius Debrah, for his part, said that Ghana risks missing the MDG sanitation target of 54 per cent access to improved sanitation by 2015.
He added that Ghana had only attained 13 per cent of improved sanitation. He was, however, quick to add that Ghana had attained MDG on water.
Touching on the cholera outbreak which has devilled the country, he said over 16,000 reported cases with a case fatality ratio of 0.8 per cent had been recorded in the country.
He observed that the outbreak, which is an all-time high, represents a collective failure on the part of government and the citizens in not observing basic hygienic practices, including ensuring ready access to places of convenience.
Mr Debrah gave assurance that government would continue to provide the needed resources to enable front-line staff and health personnel to deal with the situation. He added that all metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) had been asked to enforce to the letter all sanitation-related laws in their respective jurisdictions.
A founder of the Mole Conference, Mr Peter Kpodogbe, said the Mole Conference series was named after the venue of the maiden edition, that is, Mole, in the Northern Region. He mentioned that the first conference involved National Service personnel, sector practitioners from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private operators, among others, to dialogue, learn and share knowledge on specific themes that affect the sector.
He added that the key objective of the conference is to take stock, share experiences and engage in collaborations to find sustainable solutions to Ghana�s sanitation crisis.
This year�s edition is being organized by CONIWAS with the support of establishments such as WaterAid Ghana, International Resource Centre (IRC), the United Nations Children�s Fund (UNICEF), Plan Ghana and all organizations in the WASH sector.
The General Telegraph
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