How Will Ghana Mark �World Toilet Day�?
Next Wednesday, November 19, UN member countries will observe �World Toilet Day 2014� and I wonder what Ghana�s plans are for the Day.
The Day is to be observed in the context of Sanitation for all and is meant to raise awareness of sanitation issues and, notably, end the practice of open defecation.
It is estimated that 2.5 billion people world people worldwide don�t have access to clean and safe toilets and �1.1 billion people still defecate in the open.�
The consequences of lack of toilets are worth repeating: �Disease, including cholera which still affects some three million people each year, can be largely prevented when effective sanitation and water treatment prevents faecal matter from contaminating waterways, groundwater and drinking water supplies.
After this year�s unprecedented cholera epidemic, with cases of this disgraceful disease recorded in almost all the regions of Ghana, infecting more than 22,000 people and resulting in some 200 tragically needless deaths, how does the government intend to mark the day?
But maybe I shouldn�t even ask. We are experts in talking; appearing to be taking action when in reality little is being done. So no doubt, there will be more speeches, more big talk.
When will we actually begin to ensure that every home, every school, every public place has toilets � decent ones?
Is the institution of a Sanitation Day an adequate response to the problem if more toilets are not being built?
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