TWO major infrastructure projects, targeted at improving the Water, Sanitation and Health (WASH) in the Bongo District and Kassena-Nankana Municipality in the Upper East Region, have been launched.
The projects, estimated to cost GH¢18.9 million, are meant to complement the Sexual Health and Reproductive Education (SHARE) project, a five-year initiative funded by the Global Affairs Canada and implemented by WaterAid Ghana, Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) Ghana and Right to Play, with The FHI 360 charged with the responsibility of providing technical expertise.
The projects, namely ‘Good Health Starts Here and WASH-Nutrition Plus,’ are funded by WaterAid United Kingdom (UK) Focus Country Programme and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, respectively.
Speaking at the launch at separate occasions at Lungu in the Bongo District and Pungu in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region, on Friday, the Country Director for WaterAid Ghana, Ewurabena Yanyi-Akofur, indicated that the two flagship projects were meant to reinforce WASH infrastructure in the beneficiary communities that were grappling with the issues of water and poor hygiene.
According to her, the launch of the WASH-Nutrition Plus project was to complement the first WASH-Nutrition project at the district, where women in Bongo were supported to have their own garden.
The garden, she stated, was to enable the women in deprived areas to engage in all-year-round agricultural activities to produce the vegetables and the food required to make them remain healthy, so as to contribute significantly to the development of the district.
Mrs Yanyi-Akofur aslo noted that the projects would promote WASH infection and control; improve menstrual hygiene management, and also strengthen adolescent empowerment by linking WASH and Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) in healthcare facilities.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Donatus Atanga Akamugri, commended the WaterAid Ghana for their unalloyed resolve to tackling WASH issues in Bongo and the Region at large for the past 15 years.
He described the projects as a critical turning point in the collective journey toward a healthier, more resilient and prosperous region.
Furthermore, the Minister mentioned that the launch of the projects marked the beginning of a transformation, adding that, “We will integrate this project into our regional development agenda and ensure that lessons learned here are shared across the region to drive wider transformation.”
The WASH-Nutrition project is estimated to serve about 2,650 people in Pungu and its surrounding communities like Pungu Wusung, Pungu Bawiu A, and Pungu Bawiu B, all in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality.
The Paramount Chief for the Bongo Traditional Area, Naba Baba Salifu Alemyarum II, lauded WaterAid Ghana for its commitment towards water infrastructure in Bongo.
The launch of the projects attracted high profile personalities in and outside the country, including Dieneke van der Wijk, Managing Director, WaterAid Netherlands and Abdul-Nashiru Mohammed, WaterAid West Africa Regional Director.
FROM FRANCIS DABRE DABANG, BONGO
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