Sanitation is dignity indeed!

A GNA Feature by Hannah Asomaning

Accra, Nov. 17, GNA - Kwaku, a 21 year-old man, born and bred in Obuasi in the Ashanti Region, had lived all his life in one of the luxurious mining bungalows. After obtaining a Diploma in Information Technology at the Koforidua Polytechnic, he decided he would stay with a relative in Accra to seek a job and probably greener pastures.

Kwaku was lucky to have a cousin staying at Akweteman, a suburb of Accra, so his dream to come and stay in Accra really did materialize. It was one room, probably a boy's quarters to the main building, with about 10 different families living in the house. On the compound of the house was a cemented structure with four sides used as a bathroom, which all the 10 families used. Even those who were not tenants in the house sometimes came and bathed there.

To his surprise, he realized that there was no toilet in the house, the reason being that the toilet was full and nobody was prepared to pay for it to be emptied, so the landlady broke down the place. Very early in the morning, Kwaku would walk from Akweteman to the main Achimota Market where a public toilet was situated. He had to be in a queue for hours to empty his bowels. And this wasn't for free, as a patron of the public toilet would have to buy toilet roll or newspaper to clean himself. When you get the chance to enter the toilet, only half of the problem is solved.

Kwaku says, "There are faeces on some toilet seats and on the floor and one has to employ special acrobatics to empty your bowels." That aside, this is a man who had no clue that coming to Accra in search of a job would also mean being able to adapt to slum life. Kwaku's situation makes real the celebration of World Toilet Day, a day set aside to critically consider various sanitation issues. The celebration of World Toilet Day in Ghana was met with mixed feelings. The first time it was announced on a local radio station in Accra some presenters actually made fun of it.

"World Toilet Day? Hahahaaaa. As for this country we celebrate everything," was one of the radio presenter's comments. It really sounded funny. The media could probably not link the celebration of World Toilet Day with development.

World Toilet Day is set aside to demand proper sanitation for people all over the world, a cause championed by the World Toilet Organization. This year's celebration, which falls on November 19, is on the theme: "Sanitation is Dignity, Hygiene is Heath." To some people it is an unnecessary day to celebrate. However, after hearing Kwaku's story, the realization that a country should pay attention to toilet issues becomes real. It is estimated worldwide that about 2.5 billion people do not have access to toilet and proper sanitation and in Ghana about half of the population is estimated to be using shared toilets or do not have toilets in their homes.

Shared toilets refer to a situation where there may be a house with about 10 different families, as in Kwaku's case, who share the same toilet. There are still some households in Accra, who use the pan latrine, and better still there are households who do not have water and therefore are not able to flush their toilets.

World Toilet Day was declared in 2001 by the World Toilet Organization of the United Nations to highlight the need for all households in the world to have access to hygienic toilets.

Some people have raised legitimate concerns like, "What are the processes involved in getting a good toilet in one's home?" Some have said it is very expensive to get a good or proper toilet in one's home. "Is it right, for instance, to call on government to help or subsidize the processes involved in owning a toilet?" Many questions are raised when it comes to the issues of sanitation. Emptying the bowels is a very important act in the lives of every individual.

However, when about half of a country's population has to go through such indignity to empty their bowels, it is nothing compared to development. Major T. N.K. Awuah (Rtd), Director of Metro Sewage Services, said the Accra Metropolitan Assembly had given a one-year ultimatum to businesses and households in the Metropolis who did not have toilets to put in place toilet facilities at their premises or be prosecuted.

"Therefore, household and businesses that do not have toilet facilities come October, 2011 will be prosecuted," he said.

Meanwhile, the Assembly has banned the use of pan latrines and those found to be using it would be arrested effective January 2011. Major Awuah said the Metropolis also had its own challenges, one of which was the urgent need to find an alternative arrangement to dump the city's liquid waste.

"The Mayor has given instructions that dumping liquid waste at 'Lavender Hill', where the liquid waste is dumped into the sea, must stop," he said, adding "we are seriously working to end that by the end of the year."

However, he said, all was not lost since the African Development Bank (AfDB) under the Accra Sewage Improvement Project (ASIP) was targeting 4,200 households to support them with toilet facilities. Under ASIP, households would be made to apply for a financial facility to enable them to own a toilet in their homes and pay back in monthly instalments so that other people would also benefit from the money which is a revolving fund.

As Ghana pursues the Better Ghana agenda, let us all remember that having access to good sanitation is also a development issue. Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, last year went to Nima, a suburb of Accra, in the early hours of the morning, as they queued to empty their bowels and described the situation as "unacceptable".

In the Deputy Minister's own words, "It is unacceptable to live such lives."

As Ghana joins the rest of the world to mark World Toilet Day on November 19, let us remember that sanitation is indeed dignity. 17 Nov. 10