Coronavirus is affecting Open Defecation Free campaign - Committee

The Upper West Regional Inter-agency Coordinating Committee on Sanitation (RICCS) says COVID-19 is adversely affecting the Open Defecation Free (ODF) campaign in the region.

According to the committee, due to the outbreak of the pandemic in the country since March 2020, it could not facilitate the conversion of more Open Defecation communities to ODF as compared to previous years.

In a presentation at the committee's meeting in Wa, Mr. Agambire Alhassan Inussah, the Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator at the Regional Environmental Health and Sanitation Department, said in 2020 only 49 communities could attain Open Defecation Free(ODF) status.

Mr. Innusah noted that the committee will strengthen its collaboration with stakeholders and partners to improve the ODF campaign and RICCS activities.

He said the Nandom Municipal Assembly has gazetted its bye-laws on sanitation and encouraged other Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) to also do the same to help end Open Defecation in the region.

He said the ODF campaign has been put on hold due to the inability of MDAs to allocate funds for sanitation-related activities in their respective jurisdictions.

Mr. Gilbert Nuuri-Teg, the Upper West Regional Coordinating Director, who doubles as the Chairman of the RICCS, urged the members to exhibit a maximum of commitment towards the activities of the committee to help achieve its objectives.

Currently, the Upper West Region has 779 out of a total of 1,169 communities that have attained ODF status, representing 66.7 percent.

The rest are Nadowli-Kaleo District with 128 communities, Wa West District 160, Lawra Municipality 75, Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District 84, Jirapa Municipality 79, Lambussie District 48, Sissala West District 36, Sissala East Municipality 15, Wa East District 48, and Wa Municipality 18.