Only 27 percent of Ghanaians have access to safe and potable water, according to 2017 report from the international Water and Sanitation Centre, Ghana. (IRC Ghana). No access to safe water can have negative impact on individuals, according to. According to Mr. Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, the Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, it has been documented that safe water, sanitation and Hygiene can potentially prevent 9.1 % of global disease burden and 6.3 percent of death cause. Water scarcity affects more than 40 percent of people around the world (UNDP)
Akufful Krodua is one of the many communities in Ghana that is adversely affected by the lack of potable water for its residents. Akufful Krodua is a small rural community with a population of about 1288 in the Awutu Senya District of the Central Region in Ghana. The district has a population of about 86,884. About 52.9 percent are females and the proportion of the population below 15 years is 41.7 percent. The community is about an hour drive from the administrative Region (2010 GSS Population and Housing Census).
In 2014, a Microfinance project was developed by Patriots Ghana to provide affordable services that are geared towards providing financial and social freedom for the community. The microfinance project is mainly designed to address the problem of poverty and hunger in rural communities and empower rural women in the central region of Ghana. As part of organizational strategies to provide need-based interventions for many target communities, qualitative/quantitative surveys and interviews are predominantly conducted by Patriots Ghana.
On one of such surveys, the team identified that 24% of total respondents of our survey, stated that access to potable water is the major problem in the community. Upon further inquiry and investigation, Patriots Ghana received verifiable information about the situation.
The National Programs Manager of Patriots Ghana, Emmanuel Yamoah and Florida State University, project coordinator intern, Emmarica Lassin visited the only source of water in the community. They were astonished to find out that the source water was a small portion of water coming from the ground, which can potentially dry up during dry season.. The water they say is linked to another water body, but they couldn’t provide any details on which water body it was from. The team doubted that individuals drink from that source of water, until a young man from the community prove them wrong by drinking the water as they stared in disbelief.
Through the study, about 25% of the total people the Patriots Ghana team spoke to, expressed how detrimental the situation is to their health and wellbeing. Since it is the only source of water, residents must go to the site at about 4 AM when there is more water under the tree or risk not having any water for the whole day. When the community members were asked if they had other options, they mentioned only a few relatively better income in the community sometimes buys water from reliable sources. Others also use commute to nearby borehole to fetch water but unfortunately that water is salty so they cannot use it for most of their domestic needs. Some believe that because the water is under a tree that contains a lot of herbs around it, it is likely to be medicinal and may have been the reason why their forefathers lived longer.
The residents interviewed also discussed how the water crises is extensively politicised. According to them, in the past various politicians have used the crises as a political point to make many promises and get votes. At various levels, certain politicians have visited the community to empathise with them and assured them that if voted for, they would do everything in their power to solve the problem. Sadly, after these politicians achieve their political ambitions they neglect the community and can no longer be reached.
It is unfortunate that a community that has very good tarred roads does not have access to a necessity of life. As it is said, water is life. The water crisis in the village may be a contributing factor to many water borne diseases such as diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera and typhoid fever. Others have also had critical skin diseases. It is crucial that an intervention is implemented soon to prevent a bigger crisis especially since there is no health facility in the community.
Patriots Ghana appeals to stakeholders from the government, civil society and non-governmental organizations, private sector, service providers and anyone that would like to support the community solve this dire communal problem to reach out to us or contact the district office. Any support for the community would be greatly appreciated.
By: Emmanuel Yamoah
www.patriotsghana.org
[email protected]
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