Less than 1 percent of communities in the greater Tamale area, is said to be certified as open defecation free (ODF) with residents mainly depending on public toilets which is usually unhygienic and do not meet the need for privacy.
Additionally, about 81% of households do not have private latrines which has resulted in the high prevalence of diarrhea and cholera in these areas.
This was made known by Carolyn Edlebeck, the Catholic Relief Services(CRS) Head Of Programmes in a speech to commemorate this year’s World Toilet day.
She stated also that one in five households has an improved toilet in their homes with 22% of the population still practicing open defecation.
Furthermore, over 13 million Ghanaians use shared facilities concentrated primarily in low-income urban settlements.
In a FiilaNews interview with Richard Agbo Ntibrey, a senior urban WASH project Officer at CRS, he noted that greater Tamale is making some strides so far, on sanitation related issues.
“Tamale is not where we want to be so far as the sanitation league table is concerned, and there is hope for the future”
He meanwhile indicated that CRS together with its partners are working at providing affordable household toilet facilities to indigenes at a subsidized price to help nib the issue of open defecation in the bud.
World Toilet Day is celebrated annually on November 19th to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis and help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 which promises sanitation for all by 2030.
This Day, designated by the UN General Assembly in 2013, also seeks to create awareness and garner mass movement towards ensuring everyone has unimpeded access to safely managed sanitation and adopts positive hygiene behavior.
This year’s theme “valuing toilets” draws attention to the fact that toilets and the sanitation systems that support them are underfunded, poorly managed, or neglected in many parts of the world, with devastating consequences for health, economics, and the environment, particularly in the poorest and most marginalized communities.
Source:Fiilafmonline/ShawanaYussif
