Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are vital to achieving Universal Health Coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to stakeholders at a forum in Bolgatanga, Upper East Region .
As a result, the stakeholders urged the government, especially the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) and the Ghana Health Service, to prioritize water, sanitation, and hygiene issues.
To resolve the issues, they should also invest in the field.
The forum was organized by WaterAid Ghana, with support from Global Affairs Canada.
The forum was attended by Municipal and District Chief Executives from different Assemblies in the region, District Directors of Ghana Health Services, and stakeholders from the districts.
The aim of the forum was to allow the Bongo and Kassena-Nankana West Districts to share a long-term strategic plan developed with the help of WaterAid Ghana and its funding partners with the districts.
The goal was to assist in resolving WASH infrastructure problems and improving people’s health.
The participants agreed that addressing the needs for WASH infrastructure, especially in healthcare facilities, would aid in the prevention of many diseases.
Read Also:75-year old man meets his death in a clash at Gomoa Nyanyano
It would also help Ghana achieve the Universal Health Coverage aim and the Sustainable Development Goals, especially goal six, which emphasizes water and sanitation for all by 2030.
Mr. George C. Yorke, Head of Policy and Campaigns at WaterAid Ghana, noted that some communities in the area lacked boreholes, forcing health-care workers to fight for water with community members.
Mr Yorke pointed out that WaterAid Ghana had worked with some districts over the years, especially the Bongo and Kassena-Nankana West Districts, to increase the capacity of health workers in the area of WASH.
According to research, districts need to establish a long-term strategic plan to address infrastructure needs, especially in healthcare facilities, if they want to make substantial gains in WASH.
This, he said, told the districts’ support for the plan’s growth.
WaterAid Ghana, according to Ms Fauzia Aliu, Policy Officer, provided data and technical expertise to the two districts in order to establish a Life Cycle Costing Approach to providing and maintaining WASH services to a particular community.
“The strategy was created and validated, and it will not only raise awareness of the plan among all stakeholders in the area, but it will also raise awareness of the need for a holistic plan to introduce WASH in all healthcare facilities,” she explained.
The District Chief Executive for Bongo, Mr Peter Ayamga Ayinbisa, praised WaterAid Ghana’s efforts to develop healthcare services in the region and stated that the Assembly will increase its budgetary allocation to improve the WASH sector.
He stated that the district will struggle to achieve quality healthcare without WASH and vowed to help the plan’s implementation.
The participating MDAs, which included the Bawku and Kassena-Nankana Municipalities as well as the Garu, Pusiga, Binduri, and Tempane Districts, learned how to establish a long-term strategic plan to resolve WASH problems from the Bongo and Kassena-Nankana West Districts.
SOURCE: ATLFMONLINE
