World Toilet Day today was19th of November

*Addressing Our ‘Call of Nature’ Problem*

It’s official; Ghana has a sh*t, sorry, toilet problem. “11% of Ghanaians


have access to improved latrines”, a report carried on ghanaweb recently


informed us (see http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/printnew...


General News of Thursday, 19 November 2009).








Put another way, 89% of the population DOESN’T have access to improved


latrines! The report went on to say that: “51 per cent of Ghanaians use


shared latrines or public toilets, which are usually not accepted as


improved facilities”.








So, what about guests to our dear country? Where and how are our foreign


visitors supposed to go to ‘relieve’ themselves. What statement does this


unfortunate situation make about us?

Back in March, 2009, I wrote a piece for ghanaweb on our ‘Toilet problem’


in Ghana (see


http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=159498Feature


Article of Friday, 27 March 2009).








Responses were varied, ranging from the encouraging, down to what can only


be described as “very unhelpful”. It is also an unfortunate human habit


that we are great at talking and criticising, but very slow in offering


solutions to these same problems.








The 19th of November has been designated as *World Toilet Day* and is part


of the efforts to address the overall Sanitation problem in general, of


which Ghana has no shortage of as anyone realistic enough can confirm.








“In 2001 WTO declared *19th November* World Toilet Day (WTD). Today it is


celebrated in over 19 countries with over 51 events being hosted by various

water and sanitation advocates. World Toilet Organization created WTD to


raise global awareness of the struggle 2.6 billion face every day without


access to proper, clean sanitation. WTD also brings to the forefront the


health, emotional and psychological consequences the poor endure as a


result of inadequate sanitation.








WTD's popularity is gaining momentum, and in 2010 there were 51 events


spanning 19 countries. Our "Big Squat" campaign generated 24 "Big Squats"


globally and in Singapore over 600 squatters joined the cause in six


locations island-wide. WTO would love to see our day become "The" event


that represents the sanitation crisis globally, and we strongly encourage


our members, volunteers, the community, media and partners to get behind


our cause and support our day. (


http://www.worldtoilet.org/wto/index.php/our-works/world-toilet-day)








Maybe this is also the right time for Ghanaians to start thinking of


practical ideas to address this basic, but important health problem? In my

March, 2009 piece, I painted a broad picture and argued why we should


urgently address this problem.








As I don’t also think any one person has a monopoly on ideas or solutions,


I would like to propose that we open a ‘Solutions Bank’.








What this means is that people will send in ideas they can come up with or


any practical projects they have undertaken or seen somewhere. These will


then be put up and people will comment on them.








People could also put forward suggestions such as campaigns to put pressure


on those officials charged with the responsibility for providing the


physical infrastructure, not forgetting the individual’s own responsibility


in looking after these facilities once they have been provided.

As I am making a suggestion that the ‘Solutions Bank’ should be filled with


contributions from everyone, I will end this piece here and offer my email


address as the initial contact.








I also hope one of the suggestions will be how to replace my address as the


contact point and how we may communicate the ‘solutions’ to the wider world.








Let’s look forward to a Ghana which is free from a ‘toilet problem’ and,


hence, having to ‘talk sh*t’ only for the right reasons.








Ato P K Gomez





atopaak@gmail.com