Strictly enforce sanitation bye-laws to curb open defecation – Consultant

Water Sanitation and Hygiene Consultant Mr Ibrahim Musah has called for a strict enforcement of sanitation bye-laws to ensure that landlords provide toilet facilities in house holds.

According to him, this will forestall actions of Members of Parliament (MP) to provide communal toilet which does not encourage landlords to provide toilet facilities in homes.

Mr Ibrahim Musah was speaking at a two-day workshop in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, where the Ghana WASH Journalists Network (GWJN) was taken through a capacity building on effective reporting on sanitation and the open defecation situation in the country.

He indicated that the 2021 Population and Housing Census named Northern Ghana as leading in open defecation; Wa East leads with 89.6% and the Bono District is the least with 81.7%.

Mr Musah believes enforcing sanitation bye-laws to ensure landlord's provide washrooms for their properties will curb the condemnable menace of open defecation which a section of the population has resorted to.

The consultant also urged journalists to ensure that the media reports on compelling stories and advocate for the marginalised in society.