GAMA Project Eliminates Open Defecation In Over 200 Schools 

Pupils in 202 schools in the capital will no longer have to engage in open defecation or use substandard toilet facilities due to the intervention of the Sanitation and Water Resources Ministry.

The Ministry, through the Greater Accra Metropolitan Assembly (GAMA) Sanitation and Water Project, has constructed 240 toilet units and has handed them over to the various schools for use.

Speaking to Citi News, Sanitary Engineer for the GAMA Sanitation Project, Engineer Gabriel Engman, indicated that the Ministry was committed to end the challenge of inadequate toilet facilities in the capital.

“So far out of the 406 toilet units, we have completed 240 toilet units and handed them over to use by the schools. With the remaining 136 toilet facilities, works are ongoing and let me say roughly about 90 percent complete. It is anticipated that by March we would have completed the rest of the toilets and handed them over to the schools for use.”

He added, “In the completed schools, we have provided waste bins, solid waste bins for them to use as bins to collect solid waste and manage solid waste on the school campus. We have also built capacity in terms of hygiene education, training teachers and students on how to keep good hygiene.”

The GAMA Sanitation and Water project is a US$150 million endeavor sponsored by the World Bank with the collaboration of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources to help lower-income level communities have access to affordable toilet and water facilities.

The project, which took effect August 2014, and was expected to end in July 2018, also seeks to strengthen the management of environmental sanitation in the GAMA.

The components of the project include the provision of environmental sanitation and water supply services to prioritize low-income areas of the GAMA.