Community Participatory Approaches to Sustainable

Sanitation in Northern Ghana.

Presentation to 2nd ASKNet

Conference: Nakuru,Kenya
Issahaku Mustapha
Department of Community Medicine
University for Development Studies
Tamale, Ghana
14/11/09
How big is
this sanitation
problem?
Different
descriptions
 Order of Presentation
• Profile of the Northern Region of Ghana

• The National Sanitation Policy of Ghana.

• State of sanitation in Ghana.

• Open defecation rates in Ghana and other West African countries.

 Order of Presentation cont’d
• Stakeholders and their activities in the
sanitation sector

• Challenges and constraints of the

sanitation sector in northern Ghana.

• Strategies for improving sanitation in

Northern Ghana
 Profile of Northern Region of
Ghana
• The Northern Region is the largest area
of Ghana. As of 2009, it is divided into 20
districts.
• The region's capital is Tamale.

• The region differs greatly from the

politically and socio-economically
dominating regions of central and
southern Ghana.
 Ghana - National Sanitation Policy

The principal Agency of state responsible for sanitation policy is

the Ministry of Local Government & Rural Development
(MLG&RD) acting through its allied sector agencies;

MMDAs – Metropolitan, Municipal & District

Assemblies
MoH/GHS,- Ministry of Health
EPA,- Environmental Protection Agency
GES,- Ghana Education service
NGOs,- Non Governmental Organizations
CSIR,- Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research
 National sanitation policy
The national sanitation policy is mainly to:

1. improve access to safe water supply

and sanitation
2. to reduce the proportion of the population
without access to basic water supply and
sanitation by 50% by 2015 and 75% by 2025
 Mode of policy execution
• The policy makers rely on the collection of
data on waste from all sectors of the
economy to support relevant research

• It facilitates the building of partnership with

private sector to provide and maintain
water and sanitation facilities
 Instruments for executing the
policy
Methodology for execution involves;

• Developing individual, community and institutional

capacity.
• Information, Education and Communication (IEC)
• Legislation and regulation mechanisms for sanitation
law enforcement.(environmental Health officer)
• Sustainable financing and cost recovery
• Research
• Monitoring and evaluation
 Ghana among African Nations with
poor sanitation coverage-0 -25%

Position of Ghana on the

Map of Africa

Percentage of population with improved

Sanitation facilities

Source : JMP 2006

 Map of Ghana showing
Northern Ghana
• Map of Ghana showing
the 3 deprived poverty
stricken regions ;
Northern, Upper East,
Upper West Regions,
registering highest rate
of open defecation in
the country.
Sanitation (Improved toilet facility) Coverage in
Africa, 2006
 Open Defecation Rates in
West Africa by country
Open defecation rates in West Africa - 2006

Gambia 4

Cameroon 7

20
Ghana
Mali 21

Nigeria 23

Senegal 24
Countries

Guinea 26

Sierra Leone 27

Cote d'Ivoire 30

Guinea Bissau 34

Togo 56

Benin 65

Chad 66

Burkina Faso 69

Niger 80

0 20 40 60 80 100

Percent
 Open Defecation Rates in
Ghana by region
Open Defecation Rates in Ghana by Region, 2006

90
81.9
78.7
80 72.9
70
Rates (%)

60
50

40
30.8
30
18.1
20 12.8
6.4 8.1
10 3.4 5.5

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 Challenges and constraints of the
sanitation sector in Ghana
• lack of funding
• Poor education( high illiteracy)
• Lack of proper planning,
• Unwillingness/inability of both rural and
urban communities to incur cost towards
sanitation services.
• Socio- cultural factors (belief systems)
 Stakeholders involved

• Community water & sanitation Agency

• NGOs e.g. Conniwas,New Energy, Water
Aid,Unicef,etc
• Communities
• MMDAs
• Private Sector ( Zoom lion Ghana Ltd)
• Small scale farmers
 Cost effective and sustainable way of
ensuring food security –The reuse of concept
 Where are we?
This goat has
hooves,pehaphs
The kids have
No shoes
• Pit latrine without slab/open pit
• Bucket
• Hanging toilet/hanging latrine
• Flush/pour flush to elsewhere
• No facilities, bush or field (open
defecation)
• Shared or public facilities?
MDG Definition – Unimproved sanitation
facility

Source:
 Where do we want to go
• Improved sanitation facilities that
hygienically separates human excreta
from urine and human contact

• Flush/pour flush to:

– piped sewer system
– septic tank
– pit latrine
• Ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrine
• Pit latrine with slab
• Composting toilet

eal f acility
• ECOSAN TOILET Id

•
source:
Strategy for improving sanitation in
Northern Ghana
• Stimulate demand for sanitation facilities
among community members –Positive
deviance approach
• Develop a range of latrine designs and
options to meet household demands
• Install demonstration latrines at vantage
places to show how simple it is to construct
such a facility.
Strategy for improving sanitation in
Northern Ghana cont’d
• Provide households with access to credit
with low interest rates for latrine
construction

• Build up reliable and effective links with

suppliers, manufacturers and consumers

• Train and turn out environmental health

technicians and educators.
 Participatory Hygiene & Sanitation
Transformation approach
• This is a community
participatory tool
using the “NOW
and FUTURE’’
scenario to help the
community identify
their sanitation
needs and
collectively mobilize
resources to solve
them
 Logical Framework Approach
ACCESS TO HARDWARE HYGIENE INPROVEMENT
Water supply Communication
Improved Sanitation Facilities Social Mobilization
Household Technologies and materials Community Participation
Soap Social Marketing
Safe Water Containers Advocacy
Effective water treatment

IMPROVED SANITATION / DISEASE PREVENTION

Enabling Policy Improvement

Environment Institutional Strengthening
Community organization
Financing & cost Recovery
Cross sector & PP partnership
•