Ghana to join global discussion on access to water

Ghana’s Kofi Adah and his team will join other Ministers of Finance and water and sanitation from around the world at the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) round table meeting in Washington D.C., USA.

The meeting comes off on the 19 & 20 April 2017 to discuss how Ghana and other countries are working to bring clean water, decent toilets and hygiene services to all.

This meeting is coming at a time when there is a heightened call to stop galamsey to save water resources and the environment. The Ministers will have the chance to discuss what obstacles stand in the way and what changes are necessary to ensure that countries meet the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 6 for universal access to water and sanitation for everyone, everywhere by 2030.

WaterAid Ghana hopes that the High Level Meetings will be a chance for our Minister to discuss the reforms needed to make better use of existing funding for WASH and to attract additional resources. By holding each other accountable, those working on making progress towards sanitation and water for all, will help ensure that countries are honouring their promises.

Having clean water and a decent toilet nearby are essential for human development, leading to better health, education and economic productivity.

The Country Director of WaterAid Ghana Abdul Nashiru Mohammed said: “This is a critical time in the push for universal access and we are calling for all decision makers to meet their commitments and deliver change for the poorest and most marginalised. There is enough water on earth to meet everyone’s needs, but intense competition for scarce resources through human activities such as galamsey, poor management, lack of political will and inadequate financing means more than 663 million people in the world and over 2 million Ghanaians are without access to clean water.

Almost 2.4 billion people do not a decent toilet they can use, and are often without a place to wash their hands. This includes about 85% of Ghanaians.

“The end result is a ‘silent emergency’ causing the needless deaths of thousands of children under five to die every single year, from preventable diarrhoeal diseases spread by dirty water and lack of sanitation. This gathering of ministers from across the world – along with development partners and representatives from civil society, research institutions and the private sector – is a crucial opportunity to catalyse the progress needed to reach everyone with water, sanitation and hygiene by 2030.”

The High Level Meetings will focus on promoting four key ways of working known as Collaborative Behaviours that have been identified by the Sanitation and Water for All partnership as essential to meet the deadline of 2030.

WaterAid Ghana is hoping that our government will take the lead in mapping out a pathway towards universal water and sanitation provision, and working with partners to deliver a step change in sector performance. More and better financing for the sector, coupled with transparency of budget spending, will be essential to achieving tangible results.

WaterAid has been working for more than 30 years in the Ghanaian WASH sector, alongside local partners and communities, to support affordable access to water and sanitation services.