Professor Samuel Kobina Anim
FINDINGS FROM a Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) report indicate that several factors, notably open defecation, might hinder Ghana’s chances of achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 by 2030.
The SDG 6, which is aimed at providing access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, is part of a program by the United Nations (UN) with an overarching objective of achieving several goals across the socioeconomic spheres of life of people across the globe.
At a presentation ceremony in Accra, Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Anim, intimated that Ghana’s chances of achieving the SDG 6 by 2030 is minimal, sighting open defecation as the major obstacle.
“So nationally, we have seen some improvement in open defecation, very minimal, dropping by 1.6 percentage points over the period. But the point that we are hammering on is the disaggregation that we see across the 261 administrative districts.
“From the open defecation point of view, our chances of ending it by 2030 are minimal unless we accelerate interventions there. And as I indicated, the Ministry has developed different scenarios and this is the time we need to accelerate because if over an 11-year period, you have reduced by just 1.6 percentage points and we have seven years to 2030, then clearly we are not likely to end open defecation by 2030”, he noted.
Mr. Anim also indicated that despite the little progress made with respect to improved sanitation at the national level as evidenced by the minimal reduction in the rate of open defecation in a few districts, the prevailing increment of the phenomenon in other local districts nationwide warrants an urgent engagement between government and District Chief Executives (DCEs) and other stakeholders on improving the situation once and for all.
“Our headline call is to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) to have a breakfast conversation among these Distric Chief Executives (DCEs) that have seen quite tremendous improvement over the 11-year period, and other districts that have retrogressed over the years so that best practices can be learned across the districts to ensure that globally, we achievethe target of ending open defecation by 2030,” he said.
On the provision of safe water, Mr. Anim called on the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, “to go back to their own national target that is set for the period 2021 to 2030, look at the statistics that we have put out there and be clear in our minds that we need to revise these statistics, specifically the target on access to basic water services.”
By Nii Adjei Mensahfio