Asutifi North Assembly inaugurates inter-agency committee to end open defecation

Mr. Antony Mensah, the Asutifi North District Chief Executive (DCE) has inaugurated a District Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee on Sanitation (DICCS) with a call on members to be innovative and help to eradicate open defecation in the District.

The composition of the 13-member committee comprised of representatives from the Ghana Education Service, Environmental Health Department of the District Assembly and Civil Society Actors were tasked to ensure 100 per cent access to water, sanitation and hygiene services by 2030.

According to Mr. Mensah, access to sanitation and hygiene facilities was very important to human health and dignity, but regretted that the District had not performed well in its efforts to stopping open defecation in rural and urban areas.

The DICCS forms a key component of the implementation of the Community-Led Total Sanitation Strategy (CLTS) being implemented in the District in line with the National Rural Sanitation Model and Strategy Programme.

He tasked the Committee to up measures, intensify advocacy and help change the behaviour and attitude of the people towards open defecation as the Assembly would also ensure that all households in the District had toilets.

Mr. Mensah re-affirmed the commitment of the Assembly in supporting the implementation of the CLTS approach and other sanitation-related approaches to achieve improved sanitation and hygiene condition for all as stated in the District 12-year WASH Master Plan.

He advised the Committee to facilitate quality data gathering on sanitation in order to inform decision-making and implementation and commended World Vision International, an NGO for its support in helping to improve on sanitation in the District.

Mr. Cephas Wedam, the Project Coordinator of the World Vision International said it was committing US$500,000 to improve on sanitation in the District.

The funding support was in response to helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal Six of ensuring universal access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services in the District, he said.

Mr. Samuel Boadu Baidan, the Asutifi North District Coordinating Director and Chairman of the Committee, pledged the committee’s readiness to work hard to achieve desirable outcomes.