BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE
In the statement issued to applaud the world body’s
formal recognition of November 19 every year as World Toilet Day, Dr. Zakiya
said; “WaterAid welcomes this recognition of the global sanitation crisis, and
the need for the UN and member states to take action. This is not just the
creation of yet another UN day, but another sign that governments recognise that
toilets for all is essential for saving children’s lives.”
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| Shared latrines are a common feature in many Ghanaian households |
WaterAid Ghana, a non-governmental organisation, has
hailed the declaration by the United Nations of November 19 as World Toilet
Day, saying it will use commemoration of the day to draw the attention of
Government to the gravity of the sanitation problem.
“We’ll certainly be working with private sector,
civil society organisations, academia and others to use World Toilet Day to
draw attention to governments of the enormous scale of the problem,” Dr. Afia S.
Zakiya, WaterAid Ghana’s Country Representative stated in a statement copied to
the press.
She pledged that “WaterAid Ghana will continue to
work with national government ministries and local government authorities in
Ghana to find sustainable solutions to ameliorate Ghana’s sanitation
challenges, with an abysmal 15% coverage at the end of 2011.”
Also welcoming the UN’s declaration, Jan Elliason, UN
Deputy Secretary-General and former Chair of WaterAid Sweden said; “This new
annual observance will go a long way toward raising awareness about the need
for all human beings to have access to sanitation.”
The General Assembly resolution was unanimously
adopted on July 24, 2013 in New York and calls on UN Member States and partners
to promote behaviour change and policies to increase access to sanitation for
the poor, along with a call to end the practice of open defecation.
World Toilet Day, before the UN declaration, was
marked by civil service organisations and non-governmental organisations
worldwide including WaterAid, although it was not recognised as an official UN
day.
It is widely believed the official recognition of
World Toilet Day by the United Nations will bring about the much-needed
stimulus to improve sanitation coverage or access globally.
According to available statistics, 2.5 billion
people around the world currently lack access to safe sanitation or improved
toilets, while around 700,000 children die every year from diarrhoea caused by
unsafe water and poor sanitation.
Meanwhile, according to a World Bank Water and
Sanitation Programme (WSP) report released on April 17, 2012, Ghana’s
economy loses GH¢ 420 million (US$290 million, 1.6 per cent of GDP) each year,
due to poor sanitation.
Titled “Economic Impacts of Poor Sanitation in Africa – Ghana”, the desk study found that the majority (74 per cent) of the costs come from the annual premature death of 19,000 Ghanaians from diarrhoea, including 5,100 children under the age of five (5), nearly 90 per cent of which is directly attributable to poor water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Health-related costs accounted for nearly 19 per cent of the total economic costs, while access time and productivity losses accounted for about seven (7) per cent.
Titled “Economic Impacts of Poor Sanitation in Africa – Ghana”, the desk study found that the majority (74 per cent) of the costs come from the annual premature death of 19,000 Ghanaians from diarrhoea, including 5,100 children under the age of five (5), nearly 90 per cent of which is directly attributable to poor water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Health-related costs accounted for nearly 19 per cent of the total economic costs, while access time and productivity losses accounted for about seven (7) per cent.
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