President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, signed a historic Presidential Compact on Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), as a part of the federal government’s dedication to enhancing public well being and growing local weather resilience.
The WASH Compact is a strategic multi-stakeholder collaboration settlement that goals to advertise equitable growth and defend public well being whereas additionally selling bigger socioeconomic objectives.
It displays the ideas for closing the gaps in entry to scrub water, sanitation, and hygiene companies. It should be sure that hard-to-reach communities have entry to water, sanitation, and hygiene companies.
The President, who signed the Compact throughout a ceremony on the Jubilee Home in Accra, noticed that Ghana’s path to ship potable water to all was removed from carried out, regardless of the appreciable strides made in enhancing water companies all through the nation.
He acknowledged that the signing of the Compact was primarily based on the elemental understanding that with out such important companies, long-term development can be unattainable.
“The journey on which we’re embarking is constructed on the elemental fact that with out WASH companies, sustainable growth will stay an elusive dream.
“This Compact represents not the beginning however the continuation and amplification of our efforts; a decisive step to make sure that each citizen, regardless of their location or circumstance, enjoys sustainable entry to those very important companies,” he mentioned.
Beneath the Presidential Compact, the third of its sort in Africa, the federal government will allocate an estimated US$1.7 billion yearly to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) initiatives till 2030.
The funds would be sure that WASH companies reached colleges, healthcare services, and distant communities.
President Akufo-Addo acknowledged that the final seven years of his administration have seen big investments in water provision, with evident indicators of enchancment; nonetheless, way more work must be carried out.
He acknowledged that due to his authorities’s investments, residents now had entry to dependable sources of secure ingesting water, and that “the time girls and youngsters spend fetching water has been dramatically diminished, permitting them to give attention to training and financial actions.”
“Regardless of the challenges we’ve got confronted, we’ve got made notable interventions and achieved important milestones. Within the final seven and a half years, we’ve got efficiently expanded entry to scrub water in each rural and underserved city areas.
“As we speak, extra of our residents have entry to dependable sources of fresh ingesting water due to the development and rehabilitation of water remedy services throughout the nation,” he mentioned.
Dr. Dr Ifeoma Esther Charles-Monwuba, Advert Interim, UN Resident Coordinator in Ghana who signed the Compact for the UN, mentioned the event was a dedication on the a part of President Akufo-Addo to speed up progress on Sustainable Improvement Targets (SDG) 6, which envisages common entry to water and sanitation for Ghana
by 2030.
She mentioned the President’s love for the motherland was evident from his honest efforts to enhance the well-being of Ghanaians.
Dr Charles-Monwuba acknowledged that the WASH Compact highlighted the importance of robust governance buildings.
“The Authorities of Ghana’s management in fostering these frameworks is commendable. By integrating WASH priorities into nationwide insurance policies and making certain accountability by means of clear monitoring and analysis mechanisms.
“This Compact will considerably improve the effectivity and effectiveness of service supply throughout the nation,” she acknowledged.
Madam Lydia Seyram Alhassan, Minister for Sanitation and Water Sources mentioned, “The Compact, signed by the President of the Republic, reveals how severe we as a rustic take WASH points.”
She mentioned that Ghana introduced the Compact to fruition only one 12 months after it was introduced as a dedication on the UN 2023 Water Convention.
The Compact will set up a Nationwide Sanitation Authority, which can assist the federal government’s efforts to eradicate open defecation by 2030.
Moreover, Ghana’s nationwide local weather technique will now embody constructing climate-resilient water and sanitation infrastructure and companies, making certain that the nation is able to deal with the challenges posed by growing droughts and floods, she mentioned.
The Compact is the results of an in depth session course of with authorities companies, growth companions, the tutorial neighborhood, and native civil society organizations.
It’s supported, below the Heads of State Initiatives, by the Authorities of the Netherlands, the UK International, Commonwealth and Improvement Workplace, UNICEF, the Sanitation and Water for All partnership and IRC WASH.
These companions will serve in an advisory capability for the Compact’s implementation, offering technical experience and coordinated advocacy.