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With just six years remaining to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6.1 and 6.2, which ensure universal access to water and sanitation by 2030, Ghana’s progress appears to be faltering.
According to the 2022 report by the Ghana Statistical Service, 1.4 million Ghanaians rely on surface water, with only 37% of the population (12.5 million people) using sachet water. Additionally, only 56% of the population has access to improved water supply.
In terms of sanitation, 8 million people use public toilets, and 11 million share toilets with neighbors. The rate of open defecation has increased from 3.4 million to 5.7 million.
During his inaugural lecture on “Universal Access to Water and Sanitation Services: A Myth or Reality?” at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Prof. Kwabena Biritwum Nyarko called on the government to invest in water and sanitation to ensure universal access. He emphasized, “Globally, poor access to water and sanitation results in approximately 1.7 billion cases of gastrointestinal diseases, especially in children under five years each year, with over 700,000 annual fatalities.”
While Ghana has made significant progress over the past decades—with 88% of Ghanaians having access to at least basic water services by 2022, up from 56% in 1990, and 29% having access to basic sanitation services, up from 7% in 1990—the country still faces substantial challenges. Prof. Nyarko noted that improvements are limited by population growth, urbanization, and climate change, and significant disparities in access persist.
“The main challenges are expanding access to the unserved population without water and sanitation services; a task which becomes more complex due to the need for enhanced sustainability of systems as service delivery approaches full coverage,” Prof. Nyarko explained. He urged the government to invest in research, development, and innovation to generate solutions addressing financing, technology options, institutional design, and marketing.
Prof. Nyarko highlighted the health risks associated with untreated grey water, noting that “60% of the population dispose their grey water by throwing it on the ground or on the streets, 27% dispose theirs by allowing it to flow into the gutters, 11% dispose theirs by channeling them into soaked pits (soak-away) while only 2% dispose their grey water through proper sewage systems.” He stressed that untreated grey water, which contains micro-pollutants, poses substantial environmental and health risks and hampers efforts to ensure universal access to sanitation.
To address these issues, Prof. Nyarko proposed several measures, including a strong government commitment to expanding water and sanitation access sustainably and equitably. He called for the development of a national framework for greywater management as part of the Liquid Waste Management Strategy and emphasized the need for a comprehensive assessment of the overall water supply landscape to determine the best service management arrangements.
“To address the problem of untreated and unsafe disposal of faecal sludge, a national Liquid Waste Management Strategy that incorporates a Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) Program is warranted. The MSWR should develop a program with a clear regulatory framework, including specific regulations and standards for the safe collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal of faecal sludge to provide guidance to the MMDAs,” he proposed.
Prof. Nyarko’s extensive research and recommendations underscore the urgent need for the government and other agencies to ensure the sustainability of water and sanitation services in Ghana.
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