Ghana, second "dirtiest" country in West Africa

According to the latest official statistics published by the UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Platform, Ghana's sanitation coverage stood at 10 percent as at the end of 2006, hence, Ghana ranks number 48 in Africa, out of the 52 countries reported and 14 out of the 15 countries in West Africa, beating only Niger to the last position.

The report further indicated that both local and international reports indicate that more than four million people in Ghana resort to defecating in bushes, drains and fields.

According to the Ghana Statistical Service Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey report for 2006, open defecation is prevalent in all ten regions of Ghana, but most widespread in the Upper East Region with about 82 percent without any form of latrine, followed by the Upper West Region with about 79 percent and then Northern Region with about 73.

Recognizing the importance of sanitation to the overall achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, the UN General Assembly declared 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation. But with the current level of progress in sanitation in Ghana, it is evident that the country will miss the MDG targets for sanitation.

These distressing statistics were given at a press conference on sanitation organized by the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation, with support from WaterAid, Sanitation Sector Monitoring Platform and WasteCare Limited.

This press conference seeks to highlight concerns about the sanitation situation in Ghana and to make suggestions for the way forward. It is also a follow-up on some of the decisions of the communiqué issued at the just ended Mole XIX conference in Koforidua.

Continuing with the upsetting statistics, Emmanuel Addai, Communication Specialist of the Water Sanitation Sector Monitoring Platform, observed that the most recent report from the Ghana Statistical Service indicates that about 180,000 people, representing about 0.8 percent of the population still use the pan latrines in Ghana whereas this has been declared globally as unsafe and nationally illegal.

He said sewerage systems are virtually non-existent in Ghana apart from Tema and some satellite systems in parts of Accra, Kumasi and a few other cities, noting, "According to the Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate, only about 4.5percent of Ghanaians have access to these sewerage systems. But even then, apart from Tema, many of these satellite systems are found within institutions like government ministries, academic institutions, and hospitals rather than settlements."

Lorretta Roberta, Vice Chairperson, Executive Committee, CONIWAS, noted that the sustainable development of Ghana hinges on improved sanitation. She said poor sanitation impacts negatively on human dignity, causes misery, impedes productivity, strains health care system and consigns millions of into abject poverty.

According to her, "Sanitation related diseases like malaria, diarrhea, typhoid, cholera and hepatitis top the cases at the out patient departments of hospitals," adding, "A cursory look into drains gives the impression that Ghanaians are dirty people".

She said Ghana is faced with a national sanitation crisis for a number of reasons which includes a national attitudinal and behavioural posture toward sanitation that needs to be confronted and change. "Law enforcement with regard to sanitation is almost non-existent, resulting in indiscriminate dumping of solid and liquid waste. We do not fear the law because law enforcement is nil.

"Furthermore, it appears that as a people we have not fully grasped the far-reaching implications of poor sanitation to make us eager to change our practices in the effective and efficient disposal and collection of waste," she added.

Lorretta Roberta said the communique issued at the just ended Mole conference recommended amongst other things that government declare sanitation a national emergency and lead the efforts at implementing a national sanitation action plan as well as commit funding; called for steps to ban the use of thin plastics and encourage the use of paper bags, baskets and other degradable alternatives in the country.