World Vision Ghana
The Water, Sanitation and Hgyiene (WASH) programme under the auspices of World Vision Ghana, a non- governmental organisation, has visited two Open Defecation Free (ODF) communities in the Nkwanta South Municipality of the Volta Region, to ascertain the impact of the ODF on their health and wellbeing. The communities, Pampa and Fankyekor have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) areas after benefiting from the various WASH programmes, which has improved their wellbeing.
According to Mr. Attah Arhin, the Technical Director of the WVG WASH programme, the main purpose for the interactions is to highlight the numerous benefits of being an ODF community as well as monitor the wellbeing of children, which remains their ultimate focus.
''This engagement has become very necessary to help access how the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) is thriving, as we looks at the empowerment of the community to establish basic facilities that will help improve the general well-being of children and the community at large. Emili Asare, an opinion leader in Pampa, highlighted the improved hygienic living after the CLTS programme, as the community has been able to avoid various illnesses.
''The situation we lived in prior to the installation of household latrines and ‘Tippy Taps’, was very awful and accompanied with many sickness and outbreaks, including cholera and Diarrhoea.”
''But the inception of this programme on our community has improved our standard of living and curbed the outbreak of some diseases, and we entreat the WVG to provide us with a water facility,'' he stated
In response to the request, the cluster manager of WVG WASH projects in Nkwanta, Mrs Salomey Yeboah, assured members of the community that a borehole will be drilled for the community by November, this year, to provide potable water for the community.
The visit to Fankyenekor was not different, with community members strictly adhering to basic hygienic living, which had improved the sanitation situation. Meanwhile, only five out of 24 adopted communities by WVG WASH have passed as ODF communities, with the other three communities being New Kanye, Bakamba and Kankye Akura, all in the Nkwanta South Municipality.
