The Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, has emphasised the need for Ghana to transform its approach to sanitation in order to achieve “toilet for all”.
He said the country must accelerate action, strengthen collective responsibility, and build political support to ensure improved sanitation nationwide.
According to the Minister, although government continues to intensify efforts, sanitation challenges persist due to several factors. These include slow household investment in toilet construction, infrastructure bias that favours water over sanitation, rapid urbanisation outpacing existing facilities, weak enforcement of sanitation bye-laws, and fragmented sector collaboration.
Mr Ibrahim made the remarks yesterday in Accra at the commemoration of this year’s World Toilet Day, observed under the local theme: “Accelerating Change: Toilet for all, everyone’s responsibility.”
He expressed concern about the financial and health implications of poor sanitation, particularly the lack of adequate household toilet facilities.
Citing the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) MICS report, he lamented the continued practice of open defecation in parts of the country.
“The report shows that 18 per cent of the population still practise open defecation, with significantly higher rates in certain regions. For example, Upper East has 49 per cent, North East 40 per cent, and Savannah 30 per cent,” he said.
“These numbers do not only reflect gaps in infrastructure but also inequities in sanitation service delivery and financing,” he added.
Mr Ibrahim stressed the need to bridge infrastructure inequality nationwide and support households with improved toilet facilities.
“The story of sanitation in Ghana is not one of failure, but of slow, steady progress — of lessons learned and enormous potential waiting to be unlocked. If we must achieve toilet for all, then we must transform our approach,” he said.
He called for renewed commitment and urgency from all stakeholders to ensure households gain access to adequate toilet infrastructure.
The Minister commended partners, including the World Bank, UNICEF, CONIWAS, and the Ministry of Works, Housing and Water Resources, for their continued support in improving sanitation.
Development partners, in a solidarity message, reaffirmed their commitment to helping Ghana achieve open-defecation-free status and ensuring that everyone has access to safe, decent and sustainable sanitation services.
World Toilet Day is observed annually on November 19 to raise awareness on sanitation and promote access to safe toilets for all.
By CYNTHIA ASAMPANA
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