Stakeholders in water, sanitation urged to enhance access to latrines

Madam Cynthia Sekyere, Nkwanta South Municipal Environmental Health Analyst, has urged Water and Sanitation Management Teams (WSMTs) to ensure the construction of household latrines in their communities to enhance access.

“The easiest way the community can remain Open Defecation Free for a long time is for every house to have a toilet,” she said.

She said the construction of the latrines would also prevent diseases such as diarrheoa and cholera.

Madam Sekyere made the call when she addressed the WSMTs on: “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Roles and Responsibilities of WSMTs in Household Latrine Construction,” at Nkwanta in the Oti Region.

She noted that the absence of household latrines forced community members to resort to defecating in bushes, which was unhealthy.

“The community will be healthy and a happy place to live when all households own toilets and open defecation stops,” she added.

Madam Sekyere called on the Teams to advice, monitor and supervise members of their various communities on the importance of constructing household latrines.

She said they should update their community maps on sanitation, organise community assessment and enforce community by-laws.

The WSMTs must endeavour to draw effective action plans to ensure community ownership as well as sustainable and improved sanitation, she added.

The participants came from Odumase, Kecheibi and Ofosu in the Nkwanta South Municipality.

They drew action plans on ways to mobilise revenue in water and sanitation management and ensure a clean environment.

Mr Wisdom K. Aziemanu, the Manager, Community Water and Sanitation Agency, Nkwanta Water System, urged the participants to properly maintain their community boreholes to accrue more revenue to ensure sustainability.

Mr Richard Anane Adortse, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for People for Health (P4H), encouraged the participants to continue with the voluntary work to guarantee the maintenance of WASH facilities in their communities.

He urged them to work effectively, based on their action plans, to ensure sustainability of the projects.

The P4H organised the workshop as part of the WASH project activities for the year.

SEND-Ghana leads the consortium of three organisations working on P4H’s five-year project, including the Ghana News Agency and Penplusbytes.

The project aimed at improving access to quality health service delivery in 20 districts of five regions: the Greater Accra, Eastern, Northern, Volta and Oti.

It seeks to strengthen organisational and institutional capacities of government and other stakeholders to attain mutual accountability in the formulation and implementation of policies on health, water, sanitation and nutrition.