Sanitation Campaign Gets Media Support

The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources on Wednesday launched the Media Coalition against Open Defecation (M-CODE).

Some media companies behind M-CODE include Citi FM, Daily Graphic, Multimedia group, Ghana News Agency, Ghanaian Times, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation among others.

M-CODE aims at fighting against open defecation in the country, calling on the government and stakeholders to join hands in ending the practice which is a threat to the health and wellbeing of the populace of Ghana.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF JMP 2017, Ghana is ranked 7^th worst in the world for access to improved basic sanitation and only 14% of its population having access to basic sanitation.

Available statistics indicate that about 1 in 5 Ghanaians defecate in the open.

This translates to an estimated 5.7 million Ghanaians engaging in open defecation.

In a speech delivered by the Deputy Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Minister Patrick Boamah, on behalf of the Minister of Sanitation, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, the government has pumped 93 million dollars aimed at improving sanitation.

The Minister said $48 million had been used to secure a credit facility to implement the Greater Accra Sustainable Sanitation and Livelihoods Improvement Project which is expected to provide about 3.7 million people with improved sanitation facilities within the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area(GAMA) Sanitation and Water Project.

The government, additionally, has secured a $45 million for the extension phase (June 2017 to June 2019) of the Sustainable Rural Sanitation Project targeting six regions including the Northern, Upper East, Upper West, BrongAhafo, Western and Central Regions. The targets of the extension phase of the project which is being implemented through the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CSWA) are 20,000 household toilet facilities leading to the attainment of Open Defecation Free(ODF) status of 500 communities, a number of institutional toilet facilities and Water systems.

Dapaah added that the Ministry had directed all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives whose mandate is to clean the cities, towns, and villages to step up their game in providing sanitation services.

She also made a call on the media to take the lead in educating and informing the public to ascertain the needed behavioral change.

She said, “there is no other powerful medium in reaching the masses like the mass media. Thus, the mass media fully clutching an issue like open defecation head-on will result in an unimaginable impact”.

The Wash and Technical Coordinator of World Vision, an NGO, Mr. AttahArhin, said, “nothing is more important to child well-being than access to safe water, improved sanitation, and hygiene. We will continue to work for increased prioritization and investments for sustainable Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services delivery. We particularly want the government and other stakeholders to pay attention to the WASH situation in schools and health facilities. This is necessary for creating a conducive environment for quality education and healthcare”.