Despite Ghana’s progress in recent years — it is the fastest growing economy in Africa — it is one of the lowest ranked countries in terms of access to basic sanitation worldwide. Out of the total population, 10% use unimproved sanitation facilities, 21% have access to basic sanitation facilities, 13% practice open defecation and 45% use a limited or shared sanitation facilities. There are many reasons as to why sustainable sanitation access is so low; a critical factor is the level of poverty that exists in many rural areas and the challenges that households have to afford the purchase of a durable and hygienic latrine. This blog post on Medium looks the national sanitation guidelines developed in response to the challenge to ‘Leave No One Behind’.

Global Communities Ghana, with funding from USAID, as part of the WASH for Health project has been collaborating with the Government of Ghana Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources to develop Guidelines for Targeting the Poor and Vulnerable for Basic Sanitation Services in Ghana. The partnership also produced a video highlighting the need for such Guidelines. A major policy change reflected in the guidelines is publicly financed subsidies for poor household sanitation latrines. The guidelines serve to ensure that equity, inclusion and sustainability for those who are unable to afford household toilets, without undermining strong community cohesion and strength in building their own toilets.

Download the guidelines.