The Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS) has announced the 29th edition of the MOLE XXIX conference scheduled to hold on 6th to 8th November at Sogakope in the Volta Region.
Briefing the media in Accra, the Executive Secretary of CONIWAS, Basilia Nanbigne said the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector has witnessed some changes following the commencement of the SDGs in January, 2016.
She noted that first, a Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources was created in January 2017 bringing a renewed hope of revival and improved WASH sector performance with the confidence that sanitation and hygiene was going to receive the needed political priority and institutional focus.
Mrs. Nanbigne added that the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) has commissioned some reforms within the rural and small-town water sub-sector, with the ultimate aim of employing professionalism to consolidate the gains made in the sub-sector.
She said, in view of these promising institutional reviews and the launch of a National Sanitation Campaign in 2017 among other initiatives, there does not seem to be a very clear march towards universal access to water and sanitation in Ghana.
According to her, access to improved drinking water that used to be encouraging during the MDG era has hit poor levels of service with regards to the expectations in the SDGs.
Mrs. Nanbigne posited that access to improved sanitation is still a mirage, adding, “while a few regions like the Northern, Upper West and Upper East need to be commended for their efforts at reducing open defecation and increasing access to household latrines, some regions do not seem to have any visible signs of reduction in open defecation or improving basic sanitation.”
She indicated that the theme for this year’s conference, "Reforming Ghana's Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Sector towards Universal Access," is significant in view of the ongoing changes in the sector.
According to her, the conference will highlight the status of the WASH sector, sensitize WASH stakeholders and make inputs into Government WASH Policies towards universal access for everyone everywhere by 2030.
She intimated that the conference will focus on advocating for and support efforts at institutional re-alignment of directorates departments and agencies under the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and related Ministries.
Mrs. Nanbigne added that they will update stakeholders on various WASH policies, strategies, plans and programs.
She said they will further discuss the mechanisms and strategies for localizing the SDGs and ensuring greater ownership at the sub national level.
According to her, they will create a platform to highlight the impacts of integrity, social accountability and monitoring on sector performances.
Mrs. Basilia Nanbigne emphasized that discuss during the conference will centre on institutional re-alignment for accelerated service delivery effective sector policies and strategies, localizing the SDG 6 for sustainable financing at all Levels and integrity, social accountability and performance monitoring.
She concluded that a grand debate will be held on the topic "CSO Contribution to WASH in Ghana is a Mere Rhetoric," on Thursday, 9th November after which a communiqué will be issued to summarize the main conclusions at the conference.
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