By Philip Tengzu, GNA
Wa, (UW/R), Nov 27, GNA - Integrated Action for Community Development (INTAGRAD), a Non-Governmental organisation, is urging district assemblies to extend campaign on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to the local level to help achieve timely results.
The organisation said local and regional authorities ought to "promote integrated, inclusive and sustainable territorial development," especially SDG six, which focused on ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation.
Mr Nurudeen Ibrahim, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Advocacy and Policy Officer for INTAGRAD, made the call in Wa at a sensitisation forum on the SDGs.
The forum was organised with funding from the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) under Voice for Change Partnership (V4CP) programme to help district level stakeholders understand the SDGs, with focus on Goal six.
It is expected that sensitising lower level interest parties on SDG six would enable them assess the status of WASH in their respective districts.
Mr Ibrahim indicated that different strategies were required in the urban and peri-urban communities to ensure households owned and used latrines.
He said the community-led total sanitation and rural sanitation modules would not be effective in the communities without households’ toilet facilities, and called for involvement of national and local authorities.
"The involvement of the private sector, which is a key stakeholder in ensuring we have improved access to water and sanitation has not been there, so national and local governments need to create an enabling environment for the private sector to be able to operate effectively in achieving these targets," he said.
He said Ghana was yet to attain basic status of sanitation due to weak policy implementation and inadequate investment in WASH.
"Even though we have a national sanitation strategy for the implementation of water and sanitation, we haven't followed that strictly and funding for sanitation too has been weak”.
Mr Baba Paul Mornah, the Wa Municipal Environmental Health Officer (MEHO), said UNICEF was working to develop the Urban Sanitation Module for the urban and peri-urban areas to help fight Open Defecation.
He added that his outfit would soon gazette sanitation by-laws and revitalise a sanitation task force to arrest and prosecute sanitation offenders.
On other health issues, Mr Mornah said officials would screen food vendors in the municipality, at least after every six months, to ascertain health status of food sellers.
Similar event was organised at Nandom in the Nandom District with Traditional rulers, WASH service providers and Assembly Members among others.
GNA
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