Ghana begins campaign against open defecation

The practice of open defecation in Ghana is still very alarming, with current data suggesting that almost a quarter of the Ghanaian population do not use any latrine facility.

Statistics also indicates that access to improved sanitation in Ghana is estimated at 15 per cent against the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target of 54 per cent to be attained by end of 2015.

Some of the fundamental issues militating sanitation in the country has been identified as low prioritisation of the sector, lack of innovative and sustainable financing mechanisms, inadequate programming and ineffective coordination by relevant government agencies.

Other bottlenecks include inadequate private sector involvement in exploring investment opportunities, high poverty levels and non-enforcement of sanitation laws.