Project Coordinator of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area Sanitation and Water Project (GAMA-SWP), Mr. George Asiedu, has said that Ghana has significantly improved in its supply of water to households in Ghana.
According to him, over eighty-one percent (81%) of Ghana’s population has access to potable water.
He made this known in an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning aired on e.TV Ghana and Happy FM.
Mr. Asiedu was reacting to concerns raised by Water Aid Ghana, as it states that millions of children may not be able to follow COVID-19 protocols when they return to school as they do not have access to water and improved sanitation facilities.
The Project Coordinator expressed his shock at this finding as he noted that Ghanaians have access to water and by extension schools in Ghana.
“Over 81 percent of population in the country has access to potable water including schools. If the report presented by Water Aid is a recent report, then we will need some clarifications.
Our project is being done in Accra. As I speak to you, every school has water and Government during this COVID season, has made sure that all the schools have water. All the schools that didn’t have water have been supplied with water. Water has not been a problem in Accra and other places. So when we talk about challenges in the country, water should not be mentioned because we have done quite well with that. So we need clarification on that”.
Water Aid Ghana has called on Government, Ministry of Education and other stakeholders to consider prioritizing the provision of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities and services in schools to ensure that children are safe in schools.
The organization notes that a study by UNICEF shows that about sixty-two percent (62%) of public basic schools do not have water for regular hand washing. With this information, Water Aid is concerned that the basic defense against COVID-19 will elude millions of Ghanaian children in schools.
By: Alberta Dorcas N D Armah