Give priority to provision of potable water - UNICEF

Bolgatanga Sept. 12, GNA - Ms. Dorothy Rozga, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Resident Representative in Ghana on Monday called on the Government and her development partners to give priority to the provision of potable water and sanitation to enable Ghana achieve the Millennium Development Target 10 by 2015.

She said increase in access to potable water and better sanitation were vital to reduce poverty, improve the quality of health and lives of children.

Ms Rozga made the call at the launching of this year's National Sanitation Week at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, under the theme, "Sanitation, Key to Good Health and National Development." The objective of the Millennium Development Target 10 is to reduce by 50 per cent the proportion of people without sustainable access to potable water and basic sanitation by 2015. Ms Rozga said available statistics indicated that poor sanitary conditions and lack of potable water killed 3,900 children worldwide daily robbing the poorest particularly women and girls of their health, time and dignity.

She said lack of potable water and better sanitation in Ghana was linked to child morbidity and mortality, adding: "Health impact from potable water and basic sanitation is maximized when households have access to potable water and observe basic hygiene."

The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) adopted at the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000 are a set of time-bound targets to extend the benefits of globalisation to the world's poorest citizens and make real progress in tackling the most pressing issues facing developing countries by 2015.