Deputy Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources has stated that investing in toilets in the country is not just politically popular but makes economic sense.
The Deputy Minister made the comment in his statement during the commemoration of the 2022 World Toilet Day on Friday 19th November, 2022.
Hon. Issahaku Chinnia Amidu indicated that every Ghanaian has a right to health and dignity, emphasizing on the specific sanitation needs for women and children especially girls.
Read also: World Toilet Day- Ghana’s Journey Towards Open Defecation Free
He pointed out that meeting the sanitation needs of the universal Ghanaian requires equal and active participation of citizens in decision- making on sanitation and hygiene.
The Member of Parliament for Sissala East disclosed that the World Health Organization in its 2015 Global Health Observatory data repository on Ghana cited lack of access to improved toilets contribute to the death of 3,600 children under five die annually in Ghana.
The Minister attributed the main cause of these deaths to diarrhea resulting from open defecation or use of unsafe toilets.
The Minister observed, Ghanaians are paying a high price for lack of household toilets.
The MP disclosed that the economic cost of open defecation to Ghana is pegged at US$79 million, noting that improved sanitation could save families and individuals a lot of income and time and in effect improve their livelihood as well as give them economic empowerment.
“Ghana loses over US$290 million every year according to Water and Sanitation Programme of the World Bank 2012 study titled ‘’Economic Impacts of Poor Sanitation in Ghana’’, Hon. Chinnia pointed.
The Minister further pointed that the study also demonstrated that poor water and sanitation significantly contribute to malnutrition, which leads to lower school and work productivity from impaired cognitive function and learning capacity.
Hon. Chinnia observes that poor and lack of toilets can have larger effect on the national economy since it can impact on the country’s tourism prospects.
He explained that poor sanitary environment can discourage foreign tourists from choosing Ghana as their holiday destination which in effect will deny the country the expected foreign exchange revenue.
He noted that the impact of climate change demands appropriate sanitation options that do not further stress water supplies nor pollute dwindling water resources.
“It has become even more important in the face of climate change to invest in appropriate toilets to ensure appropriate sanitation options that do not further stress water supplies nor pollute dwindling water resources”.
He said the country’s medium-term plan projects that 61.85% of the country’s total population should have access to basic sanitation services, with 45% having access to safely managed liquid sanitation services between now and 2025.
“As the country’s pledge to achieve equitable and adequate sanitation for all and end open defecation in line with the UN SDGs will be due in less than 8 years from now, we need a minimum of GH¢ 12.24 billion capital investment in our sanitation sector”, the Minister stressed.
He admitted that the progress made so far as a country in commitment to ending open defecation and achieving access to ‘safely managed’ sanitation for all by 2030 in relation to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)has quite been slow.
He said as part of efforts to reverse this gloomy picture, the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources in collaboration with stakeholders will aggressively peruse the one-house one toilet initiative to ensure households get decent toilets in their homes.
The Minister announced that a total of 200,000 toilets will be added to the toilet stock in the country by next year.
