Open defecation, shared latrines in Ghana, one of the highest in the world - EHSD

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Pals defecating in the Paloma storm drain in Accra

A Programme Officer of the Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate (EHSD) of Ghana’s Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr. Kweku Quansah, has stated that the rate of open defecation in the country ranks among the highest in the world.

Currently, 19 out of every 100 Ghanaians openly defecate daily, either in the morning or evening or both, bringing the total figure to about five million a day.

Ghana loses $79 million annually as a result of open defecation, according to figures released by the Water and Sanitation Programme of the World Bank in April 2012, making the country the fifth highest among 18 African countries analysed by the bank.

Explaining the genesis of the trend, Mr. Quansah, who bewailed that it is one of the colonial legacies bequeathed to Ghana, said it all began when in colonial times owning a toilet was seen as a prestige and something for the affluent in society.

In an exclusive interview conducted recently, the programme officer said; “It all started from the pre-colonial era, when the then colonial masters thought latrines was a privilege, it’s for the high class and they rather built communal latrines for people to use instead of encouraging them to have their own latrines.

“It started from there and they started using latrines as something free – I don’t need to waste money on it – rather, somebody must pay for it. Then it came to public latrines where fees were charged for people to access those latrines.

“It got to a time when we privatised it to fully commercial so it became too expensive for people to access – all these put together and the fact that generally Ghanaians are difficult people and behaviour change is a big issue, gives that result we are seeing now – high percentage of people who share latrines, high percentage of people who don’t have latrines at all and high percentage of people who practice open defecation,” he lamented.

That notwithstanding, he said it has been noted that some people generally take delight in openly defecating. “The bottom line is that people take delight in defecating openly – culturally and habitually people feel when they go to open spaces, behind people’s houses, along the beaches, river banks etc to defecate they have free air.”

“The other side is that people genuinely don’t have any place to defecate – it is the only option that they have. Another dimension is the fact that the toilets they are using are so dirty that they cannot use the toilets,” Mr. Quansah added, explaining that these are the three main factors informing the high incidence of open defecation in Ghana.

To help counteract the practise, the EHSD programme officer disclosed that a national award scheme has been instituted by his outfit, to reward communities in the country which obtain open defecation free (ODF) status on November 19 every year, a date designated by the World Toilet Organisation as World Toilet Day.

“And I feel it is another way of encouraging and motivating communities on their own to stop open defecation, because the implication of open defecation is too serious in tourism, on the health of the people, in productivity and economics, to the extent that we cannot afford to, but rather stop people from openly defecating, ” he opined.

To Kweku Quansah, people must be stopped from openly defecating or else they will never come up with strategies to build their own latrines when there are open spaces for them to ease themselves anytime they want to attend nature’s call.

The seriousness of the situation is that children are learning the practice from the adults, he said. “Seriously the children are learning those habits, because for a typical community or public latrine that is commercialised, a child will not have the money, therefore when he gets there and is not allowed to enter, he will just do it behind the structure.”

He thus recommended that in fashioning out a policy on open defecation, the child factor must be looked at, while it must be insisted that public toilets are only built for transient populations and the building of individual household toilets encouraged, while flexible arrangements must be made for co-sharing of some individual latrines.

Mr. Quansah however admitted that currently, the incidence of shared latrines in Ghana is one of the highest in the world. “It is  a very big issue – close to 58% of Ghanaians share latrines,” he divulged.

The programme officer stressed though, that if the country must make any headway in sanitation coverage it must start from curbing open defecation, the absence of latrines and the use of unimproved latrines, before tackling shared latrines, by encouraging people to own improved latrines.

Currently only 15 out of 100 Ghanaians have improved latrines according to the Multi Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) released recently.

5 million Ghanaians defecate openly daily, 1.1bn globally

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

A Ghanaian practicing open defecation in a storm drain in Accra

Accra, the capital of the Republic of Ghana, in the West Africa sub-region, is a city widely known for its very modern infrastructure, which includes beautiful architecture and a very good road network and flyovers, including the recent but famed George Walker Bush Motorway, which stretches from the Tetteh Quarshie Roundabout to Mallam junction.

The city also boasts of a very modern international airport, the Kotoka International Airport near the roundabout, which handles an average of about 4,888 passengers on a daily basis, if the total of 1.784 million passengers who went through the airport in 2011 is anything to go by (By 2013 it is expected that expansion works will increase the annual passenger population to 5.2 million).

Adding to the city’s attractions are plush residential areas such as Trasaaco estate, Manet estate, East and West Legon, Roman Ridge, Ridge, Dzorwulu, Cantonments and Labone, just to mention a few.

This and many more, are the admiration of many a visitor to the capital and other cities and towns, who arrive from all parts of the world through the country’s only but very beautiful and busy international airport, as well as border towns such as Aflao in the Volta Region and Elubo in the Western Region among others.

Indeed, it is not only the infrastructure of Accra that visitors to the capital and first timers to Ghana admire, but the country’s warm people and tasty and spicy cuisine. Many nationals experience a ‘love at first taste’ relationship with most Ghanaian dishes.

Yes! Ghana has been aptly described as the “Gateway to Africa”, a good place to do business in Africa because of its very stable political climate, among others.

Open defecation practiced with careless abandon
However, what may shock many visitors to Ghana, especially those from the Diaspora, is the awful sight of able-bodied men and women as well as children busily defecating along some of the country’s beautiful beaches that are the attraction to many tourists, inside big drains and at dump sites, especially in the mornings and at dusk, mostly in the capital cities of the 10 regions, including the administrative and commercial capital - Accra.

Rural folks also indulge in open defecation, albeit in bushes at the outskirts of their communities and along footpaths for those afraid to venture deep into the bush for fear of being bitten by a reptile or attacked by wild animals or fellow humans.

In fact, during a recent encounter with an indigene of a community in the Northern Region of Ghana where open defecation is rife – Tindang Peliga, Madam Ayishetu Kofi, the women’s leader, said “Whenever we go to the bush we are exposed to danger from both snakes and men.”

Current statistics from a 2008 assessment by the Water and Sanitation Monitoring Platform (WSMP), Ghana, indicates that about five million Ghanaians defecate openly daily, with the Upper East Region topping with 81.9%, followed by Upper West with 78.7%.

Ghanaians love the game of football very much, especially when the national team – Black Stars is playing against another national team in a qualifier, friendly or world tournament.

One of the country’s national stadia – the Accra Sports Stadium rechristened Ohene Djan sports stadium, has a capacity of 40,000. Can you imagine 125 stadiums of that size and capacity jam-packed with people all defecating onto the pitch at the same time?

Ah! Disgusting you would say. But that is what happens on a daily basis in Ghana according to available statistics and the country will need to build a million toilets to curb the practice.

The Northern Region of the country is listed as having the third highest open defecation rate in Ghana at 72.9%, meaning about 73 out of every 100 persons openly ease themselves on a daily basis.

The Central Region is the fourth highest on the table with 18.1% and Volta Region fifth with 13.8%.  
Placing sixth is the Western Region with 12.8%; Greater Accra, seventh with 8.1%; Brong Ahafo, eighth with 6.4%; Eastern Region, ninth with 5.5%, and Ashanti Region, tenth and the lowest, with 3.4%.

Confirming the number of Ghanaians who defecate daily, is a desk study released by the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Programme (WSP) on April 17, 2012.

According to the study, 4.8 million Ghanaians have no latrine at all and defecate in the open, and that the poorest quintile (20% of the population) is 22 times more likely to practice open defection than the richest.
This figure however represents just a fraction of a total of 1.1 billion people worldwide who defecate daily because they do not have access to any form of toilet facility.

Top 12 countries that practice open defecation
India leads the pack of top 12 countries of the world that account for almost three-quarters of the people who practice open defecation.

Open defecation by an Indian in Mumbai

Also referred to as the world’s headquarters for open defecation, 626 million of the Asian populous state has more than twice the number of the next 18 countries combined; accounts for 90 per cent of the 692 million people in South Asia who practice open defecation and accounts for 59 per cent of the 1.1 billion people in the world who practice open defecation.

They are followed by Indonesia with 63 million doing open defecation, Pakistan  with 40 million, Ethiopia  with 38 million and Nigeria  with 34 million engaging in open defecation.

Sudan is sixth on the chart with 19 million having no access to toilets, followed by Nepal with 15 million of its people without access to toilets, then China in eighth position with 14 million, Niger at ninth place with 12 million, Burkina Faso at 10^th with 9.7 million, Mozambique at 11^th with 9.5 million without access to any form of toilets and Cambodia 12^th with 8.6 million without toilet access.

Interestingly however, although according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) 23 countries practicing open defecation have shown a marked improvement from 1990 to 2006 with Nepal leading, having moved from 84 percent to 50 percent over the period and hence a 34 percent decrease, Ghana is nowhere on the table.

Ghana’s economic loses
The WSP study states further, that Ghana’s economy loses GH¢ 420 million (US$290 million, 1.6 percent of GDP) each year, due to poor sanitation.

Titled “Economic Impacts of Poor Sanitation in Africa – Ghana”, the desk study found that the majority (74 percent) of the costs come from the annual premature death of 19,000 Ghanaians from diarrhoea, including 5,100 children under the age of five (5), nearly 90 percent of which is directly attributable to poor water, sanitation, and hygiene.

Health-related costs accounted for nearly 19 percent of the total economic costs, while access time and productivity losses accounted for about seven (7) percent.

In his reaction to the figures, Yolande Coombes, senior water and sanitation specialist with WSP, stated “We’ve known for some time about the impact of poor sanitation on health, but this is one of the first studies to quantify the annual costs incurred because of poor sanitation,” adding “Ghana will not be able to grow sustainably without addressing these costs”.

Quoting from the Rural Sanitation Model and Strategy (R-SMS) of Ghana, the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), says the strategy estimates that open defecation alone costs Ghana US$ 79 million annually, and that US$ 215 million is lost each year to premature deaths emanating from diarrheal diseases - a direct consequence of the poor WASH situation.

Other scary figures attributable to poor WASH, according to the R-SMS, are that US$ 1.5 million is lost due to productivity losses while sick or accessing healthcare and US$ 54 million spent each year on health care.

Economic impacts of poor sanitation in Africa
But Ghana is not alone in economic loses. In its key messages, the World Bank study shows that open defecation alone accounts for almost US$ 2 billion in annual losses in 18 African countries which will require a total of 23,305,000 (23.3 million) toilets to curb the practice.

The countries analysed are Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Republic of Congo, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

"More than 114 million people still defecate in the open in the 18 countries analysed; this is about half the number of people on the continent who have no latrine at all and defecate in the open and almost 24% of the total population in the countries surveyed.”

"Eliminating the practice of open defecation in these countries would require about 23 million toilets to be built and used,” the report states.

Adding that open defecation costs more per person than any other type of unimproved sanitation, the report indicates further: "Each person without access to a toilet can spend up to 2.5 days a year finding a private location to defecate, resulting in losses totalling almost US$ 500 million in access time annually due to open defecation for the 18 countries surveyed.

The study also points out that "Women shoulder a huge proportion of this cost, as they spend additional time accompanying young children or sick or elderly relatives to relieve themselves, as well as time spent finding a safe place for urination.

The burden of poor sanitation falls disproportionately on the poor. "In all countries, the poorest people are more likely to practice open defecation than the wealthiest people”, "The poorest people have to pay disproportionately more for the negative effects of poor sanitation,” the study says.

The desk study discloses that the 18 African countries investigated, annually lose about US$ 5.5 billion due to poor sanitation.

"These countries account for 448 million people, which is almost half of Africa’s population; "The annual economic losses due to poor sanitation are equivalent to between 1% and 2.5% of GDP,” according to the study.

It however states that "The true cost could be much higher: these analyses only deal with losses due to premature deaths, healthcare costs, losses in productivity, and time lost through the practice of open defecation.”

"Other impacts of inadequate sanitation likely to be significant, but difficult and expensive to estimate and therefore not included, include the costs of epidemic outbreaks; losses in trade and tourism revenue; impact of unsafe excreta disposal on water resources; and the long-term effects of poor sanitation on early childhood development,” says the study.

Lack of investments in sanitation
Meanwhile, in most countries, current investments in sanitation are less than 0.1% of GDP, according to available figures.

Additionally, "According to the 2011 eThekwini commitments monitoring carried out by countries, currently only five of the 18 countries analysed invest more than 0.1% of GDP in sanitation, while most countries invest less than 0.1% of GDP,” the report indicates.

It says "Although African countries committed to increase their budgetary allocations for sanitation to at least 0.5% of GDP (eThekwini Declaration, 2008), none of the 18 countries surveyed has reached that target yet.
These findings make a strong case for increased investments in sanitation, increased attention to the bottlenecks constraining delivery of sanitation services, specific pro-poor policies, and the elimination of open defecation, the World Bank desk study recommends.

Why we openly defecate
In a bid to find out why people openly defecate despite the shame associated with exposure during the act, the Ghana Watsan Journalists Network (GWJN) in 2010 embarked on a year-long campaign dubbed “Drop it in a hole”, during which some notorious sites noted for open defecation were visited and interviews conducted.

60-year-old Harisu Mohammed explained that there is no toilet facility where he lives and the nearest public facility is about 30 minutes walk from the compound house he shares with many other tenants, hence his resort to the open storm drain every day on his way to work.

For his part, 31-year-old Kweku Nyarko an apprentice driver who had also just finished emptying his bowels inside the same open storm drain just behind a very popular hotel, said his main reason was the lack of access to a facility in his rented residence.

He said he lives in Kokomlemle, a suburb of Accra with about 40 tenants but with no toilet facility with the nearest public toilet about seven minutes walk from where he lives.

“It is more convenient to do it in the gutter and a large number of my colleagues do the same and when we have stomach upset we defecate into black polythene backs and throw them into the drain,” he said.

Any hope in sight?
In an exclusive interview with a Programmes Officer of the Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate (EHSD), Mr. Kweku Quansah at the fringes of the recently held national durbar in Accra to commemorate Global Handwashing Day,  he said in order to tackle the issue of open defecation in Ghana, the media must be used to educate the populace.

“For me the way forward is to critically look at mass media campaigns and one-on-one campaigns, adding it to what we call community-led total sanitation.”

“Within the embodiment of community led total sanitation we have behaviour change, where we lead people to appreciate that there is the need to stop open defecation, and I can assure you, open defecation is so dangerous that 5,100 Ghanaian children die every year as a result of people eating faeces and getting diarrhoea etc,” he added.

Mr. Kweku Quansah, who was so full of praise for the people of the Upper West Region of Ghana where open defecation is rife, for taking the initiative to build household latrines through community-led total sanitation, urged the media to join in the crusade against open defecation, since it is one sure way of curbing the menace.

For urban areas though, he urged city authorities to enforce the sanitation by-laws, especially that which makes it mandatory for house owners and landlords to include toilets in their buildings.

“In the bigger cities, our building regulations tell us that if you build a house you should provide latrine, therefore there is the need for us to enforce those regulations,” he stressed.

Sanitation is a human right

For its part, the United Nations maintains the majority of the world’s 1.1 billion people who practice open defecation are living in rural areas, and because they have no private place to defecate and urinate; they use fields and bushes, ditches or railway tracks, or simply a plastic bag.

For them, sanitation is about dignity and ultimately human rights, the UN body states. 

In 2010, the UN General Assembly recognised sanitation and water as a human right, essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights. This breakthrough decision not only provides a major argument to all those sanitation advocates; it constitutes an important step towards turning these rights into a reality for everyone. 

The human rights approach is particularly concerned with the people who do not have access to safe sanitation. It looks at the reasons why, and tries to find ways to overcome those barriers. It seeks to address inequalities by targeting the most vulnerable, such as women, children, people with disabilities, the chronically ill or the poorest of the poor. 

Governments that have recognised the right to sanitation have, by doing so, signed up to establishing a plan of action and agreed to take concrete steps to ensure that, over time, all people gain access to sanitation – this is known as “progressive realisation”, says the UN.

If the world is really serious about turning this right into a reality, though, more, and concerted action is needed. Not only politicians, but also businesses, donors, development agencies, NGOs, media and communities will need to redouble their commitments and efforts, the world body maintains.

The way forward
Perhaps a statement by Catarina de Albuquerque, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to safe drinking water and sanitation in 2011 that “ Ensuring access to sanitation for all, which is safe, affordable, acceptable and sufficient, requires multiple interventions from different stakeholders, leadership, an enabling environment, and an engaged population willing and able to claim their rights,” needs to be considered, if the canker of open defecation in Ghana, Africa and the world is to be dealt a severe blow.

For after all, as great Indian Leader Mahatma Gandhi said in 1925, “ Sanitation is more important than independence.”

A special feature geared towards the commemoration of World Toilet Day on November 19, 2012

Oil and Gas Platform calls for probe into Ghana Gas Company's operations

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Dr. Steve Manteaw (4th from left), Chair, Steering Committee of the
Civil Society Oil & GAs Platform addressing the press 

The Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas, has called for a high level forensic probe into the operations of the Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC), because its establishment and operations have not followed due process.

Among other things, the Platform has cited the registration of GNGC as a limited liability company while funding it 100 percent with money from the state, as incongruous.

At a heavily attended press conference addressed yesterday, October 18, 2012 in Accra, by Dr. Steve Manteaw, the Platform’s Chair, the group stated; “The registration of GNGC as a limited liability company, while funding it 100% with public money, is in our view an anomaly that makes it difficult for the exercise for the kind of public oversight that are the norm with public companies such as the Volta River Authority, the Ghana National Petroleum Company, Electricity Company of Ghana etc.”

In a seven point concern tabled in a statement issued at the Press meet, the Platform also expressed worry that the gas infrastructure project currently underway has not been approved by Parliament, while an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment required for projects of this nature is yet to be complied with.

Other concerns conveyed were that because the company was established by the presidency without recourse to the sector ministry, it undermines the authority of the ministry, adding that they view it as improper for Dr. Kwesi Botchwey and Dr. Sipa Yankey, who worked on the feasibility and road map to developing Ghana’s gas resource, to have benefited from their report to the President, by their appointment to the company that emerged as part of the implementation of their recommendations.

Also of utmost concern to the Civil Society Platform is the fact that although the 2012 budget and economic policy statement of the Republic of Ghana estimates that the country loses about $36 million annually through transfer pricing, for which reason Ghana with support from the EU has developed new rules, SINOPEC, a Chinese company working on Ghana’s gas infrastructure has been able to inflate its purchases from a related company.

“We are concerned about the relatively high cost and low liquid recovery of the gas plant being procured for the project,” the Platform capped its list of concerns.

According to them, the Sinopec International Petroleum Services Corporation (SIPSC) is delivering a processing plant that will cost $40 million more than another plant which is considered superior by virtue of having five additional features, including specifications that are favourable to the Volta River Authority (VRA).

“Various simulations indicate, for instance, that the ‘superior’ plant would yield additional revenues in excess of $100 million every year, translating to about $360,000 per day,” the Platform disclosed, saying “In addition, the 45-kilometre shallow water pipelines to be installed by SIPSC will cost about $1.6 million more per kilometre than the deep water pipeline installed by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) despite the shallow water pipelines not meeting the technical requirement of having internal coating.”

In view of the forgone, the Platform has placed a five-point demand on government, starting with the forensic investigation into the GNGC’s operations. “We make this demand because of the huge costs being recorded relative to the gas project and their ramifications for gas pricing when the project is completed,” the group advanced.

Ghana’s  projected price of delivered gas to Takoradi is put at $5.9 per MBtu according to a study by the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), while it is estimated that per SINOPEC’s operations the price of delivered gas will be raised higher, thereby “making Ghana’s Jubilee gas not only uncompetitive, but also uneconomical to industrial consumers who will be unjustifiably denied cheaper source of energy than what the West Africa Gas Pipeline Company offers – currently at $6 per MBtu.”

The Platform also demands that the President gathers the political courage to deal with those that may be found culpable of any impropriety at Ghana Gas and that the company be restricted as a subsidiary of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation under the Ministry of Energy’s oversight.

It also insists that Parliament takes immediate steps to call for the GNGC-SINOPEC deal to be laid before it for debate and possible ratification in order to streamline the GNGC’s activities, while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), must take steps to make Ghana Gas comply with its regulations on Environmental and Social Impact Assessment.

Cholera outbreak plagues 5,800 Ghanaians, kills 50 in 9 months

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Hon. Enoch Teye Mensah

From January 2012 to September 2012 alone, 50 Ghanaians have died from cholera, while 5,800 cases have been reported at the country’s hospitals and health centres.

These figures from the Ghana Health Service (GHS), were relayed by Hon. Enoch T. Mensah, Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, when he delivered a statement Monday, October 15, 2012 in Accra, at a national durbar to mark five years of Global Handwashing Day celebration.

Speaking at the durbar organised by the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) under the theme; “5 Years of Global Handwashing Day Celebration: Going Beyond the Fifth Birthday of Children”, Hon. E. T. Mensah described the situation as heart-rending.

“This is sad, because these are people who should not have been ill at all in the first place. Cholera can easily be avoided by keeping our environment clean and by simply washing our hands with soap after using the toilet before handling food – That is before cooking or selling or eating food,” he stated.

The Minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, expressed dismay that while it is simple and handwashing with soap as a habit is critical to avoid the scourge of diseases, “it is common to find people using their hands unhygienically, who will go ahead to use soap after they have eaten.”

“When you go to the chop bars, you see people – as soon as they are served there is some water there, they put their hands in and then they jump on to eating – this is something which is unacceptable and we’ve got to do something about it,” he charged.

According to the MP, the situation as it stands now in the country, goes to demonstrate that while the adoption of specific hygiene behaviour has proved useful in controlling outbreak of infectious diseases, it is also true that the adoption of such behaviour can be difficult.

“For lack of knowledge, many people will continue to ignore the role that hygiene plays in reducing the incidence of diseases and this has to be stopped,” he demanded, stressing, “Handwashing with soap should become one of the cherished hygienic practices in Ghana.”

He entreated all stakeholders to join in championing ‘this worthy cause’ to improve upon the lives of Ghanaians and to provide a better future for the present and the next generations at totally no cost whatsoever.

Hon. E. T. Mensah specifically appealed to the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate (EHSD) of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, to make sure that they put up pragmatic plans towards the promotion of ‘this important national programme’.

“In our various clinics, hospitals and health centres for example, the message of handwashing with soap should be part of the daily talks given to the patients,” he urged.

“Let us all join hands in the global effort to enhance the awareness and practice of washing our hands with soap at the critical times, especially after visiting the toilet and before we handle food. Let us teach our children several times every day, that prevention is better than cure, that hygiene is health and that healthy people make a healthy nation,” he enjoined all Ghanaians.

Despite the gloomy state of handwashing with soap in Ghana, Mr. Rene Van Dongen, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Ghana opined; “We have something to celebrate today because 2012 marks the 5^th anniversary of the Global Handwashing Day celebration.”

Delivering a statement on behalf of the United Nations, he said each year more than 121 million children turn five worldwide so “in addition to celebrating our fifth anniversary we want to celebrate the fifth birthday of millions of children around the world this year.”

Mr. Van Dongen however lamented that the celebration notwithstanding, a lot of children die annually from hygiene-related diseases.

“Unfortunately, too many children in Ghana and too many children in the world die and do not live to celebrate their birthdays due to diarrhoea, pneumonia and other diseases. Together, pneumonia and diarrhoea are responsible for an estimated 40% of all child deaths around the world each year and in this they kill more young children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined,” he stated.

The UNICEF deputy representative in Ghana disclosed that although every day, 19,000 children worldwide die before reaching their fifth birthday, handwashing with soap has an important role to play in their survival and development.

“One of the cost effective interventions, which means it is cheap, handwashing can reduce the incidence of diarrhoea among children by almost 50% and respiratory infections by almost 25%. In other words and put succinctly, handwashing saves lives,” he emphasised.

Van Dongen said the focus of the theme for this year’s celebration is to foster global and local culture of handwashing with soap, to shine the spotlight on handwashing and to centre and raise awareness on the benefits of handwashing with soap.

He teased the key messages from the theme as the transfer of the knowledge of handwashing with soap into practice in homes, schools, at health centres, at markets, communities and everywhere in Ghana.

Also, he stated that as handwashing with soap saves lives, it will contribute to the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing death among children under the age of five, by two thirds in 2015 and that mothers and care givers have an extreme role to play in preventing under five deaths, by simply washing their hands with soap before feeding their babies.

Van Dongen emphasised that health personnel can also play a major role by instituting handwashing with soap among nursing mothers, urging, “We need to make handwashing with soap a part of everybody’s life.”

Saying children play an extremely important role in ensuring that happens, he told the hundreds of school children gathered at the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park where the durbar was held; “You are agents of change – as they say, each one teach one and that is how the world becomes a better place.”   

Hon. Sherry Ayittey demonstrating
proper washing of hands

In her closing remarks, Hon. Sherry Ayittey, Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, who was Chair for the function,  mentioned three things that came out strongly from the theme, listing them as the reduction of child mortality rate, reduction of the death of children under five years and prevention.

She appealed to teachers to provide handwashing bowls and position them at vantage points within the various schools, so that children can wash their hands regularly after playing during break.

The Environment  Minister also appealed to traditional authorities to use their platform to educate their communities about sanitary and environmental conditions and mentioned awareness creation as very critical.

She thus tasked the school pupils gathered to tell their peers that handwashing saves lives, saying government will save a lot of funds if child mortality were reduced, put such money into education and provide better health facilities for the citizenry.

Hon. Sherry Ayittey also asked CWSA to include groupings that handle food for education on handwashing.

The theme address was delivered by Dr. Gloria Quansah-Asare, Director, Family Health, GHS, while the keynote address was read by H.E. Matilda Amissah-Arthur, Second Lady, Ghana.

The national durbar, which was organised with support from WaterAid in Ghana, UNICEF, Unilever, Plan Ghana, World Vision, EHSD, GHS, Ghana Education Service (GES), Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), included poetry recitals, cultural displays, and a sketch by pupils of the Ledzokuku Krowor Municipal Assembly (LEKMA) South Cluster of Schools.

The combined schools cadet corps thrilling the audience

 There was as well the cutting of a fifth anniversary cake donated by Unilever, by Mrs. Matilda Amissah-Arthur, Second Lady of the Republic of Ghana, who was assisted by Hon. E. T. Mensah and selected children.

A combined schools cadet corps from the Legon Basic School, Holy Trinity Cathedral Secondary School and Odorgonno Secondary School, also provided a thrilling performance and a handwashing demonstration by all dignitaries present, led by the Second Lady, as well as the school children.

Handwashing is crucial to enable Ghana attain sanitation MDG – Matilda Amissah-Arthur

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

H.E. Matilda Amissah-Arthur delivering the keynote address

The effectiveness of sanitation facilities will only be multiplied if it is complimented by a crucial handwashing component, says Her Excellency, Matilda Amissah-Arthur, Second Lady of the Republic of Ghana.

Delivering the keynote address at a national durbar to commemorate five years of Global Handwashing Day celebration in Accra at her first public appearance since becoming second lady of Ghana, she stated; “By adding a crucial handwashing component to existing and ongoing sanitation activities, the critical health benefits necessary for countries including Ghana to achieve the MDGs can be realised.”

The Second Lady explained that promotion of handwashing with soap, which is the focus of Global Handwashing Day, is to help maximise the effect of sanitation and hygiene programmes.

She however lamented that in Ghana people wash their hands with soap for other reasons rather than for hygiene purposes and neglect the use of soap at critical times such as after using the toilet, after cleaning a child’s bottom and before handling food; especially before eating.

“Washing our hands before eating is often a perfunctory practice for most of us – we just dip our hands into water and look for soap with the best perfume to wash our hands after eating,” she challenged, adding, “In Ghana we wash our hands with soap for other reasons than hygiene: to get the smell of food off our hands and to prevent the pepper from the food from getting into our eyes.”

On the contrary, Mrs. Amissah-Arthur, said the main reason hands should be washed with soap at critical times, is so that the high incidence of diarrhoea diseases in the country, caused largely by ingesting of excreta, will be prevented.

“We should note that faeces contaminate our food through fluids, water bodies, our environment and surroundings, flies and our fingers. Diarrhoea can thus be prevented by stopping excreta from reaching the environment through proper sanitation and handwashing with soap,” she stressed.

Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of the commemoration of Global Handwashing Day which had as its global theme, “Help more children reach their fifth birthday”, while the national celebration had for its theme; “Five Years of Global Handwashing Day Celebration: Going Beyond the Fifth Birthday of Children”.

Her Excellency, Matilda Amissah-Arthur, admonished all Ghanaians to put sanitation and hygiene in their proper perspective because sanitation is dignifying, while good hygiene behaviour promotes health.

She said although the focus of the celebration is on school children, everyone is a target and so handwashing with soap must be a way of life for all.

“As we commemorate the Global Handwashing Day to promote and give visibility to handwashing with soap in Ghana, let me say that promoting health and dignity are the first steps towards development and a better quality life,” she said.

Handwashing most critical in Ghana

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

As Ghana joins the global community to mark five years of Global Handwashing Day (GHD) commemoration on Monday, October 15, 2012, Mrs. Theodora Adomako-Adjei, Extension Services Coordinator of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), has stated that hand washing is very critical and relevant in the country because of the kind of dishes Ghanaians like to cook and eat.

Since 2007, Global Handwashing Day, which focuses on the use of soap to wash hands in order to prevent diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections and other hygiene-related diseases, has been marked by many countries including Ghana.

Under the slogan “Clean hands save lives”, the driving theme for Global Handwashing Day has been children and schools, with children acting as agents of change and taking the good practices of hygiene learned at school back into their homes and communities.

The active participation and involvement of children, along with culturally sensitive community-based interventions, which have been the motivating force of GHD, aim at ensuring sustained behavioural change, while handwashing with soap - particularly at critical moments, including after using the toilet and before handling food, has been proven to be a key cost effective and life-saving intervention.

Speaking in an exclusive interview Sunday, October 14, 2012 on the significance of the day to Ghana, Mrs. Theodora Adomako-Adjei said; “In Ghana it is even critical because most of us like eating with our hands, because of the type of dishes that we cook. So when it comes to handling food we use our hands a lot.”

“Secondly, surfaces [transfer] to palms a lot of germs. It can be a door knob, even our computers, the ATM cards...people use their hands a lot so there is the need to create awareness,” she stated.

“Look at the food that we eat – fufu, kenkey, banku and all those things – we don’t enjoy eating with fork and knife, so we have to eat with our hands – therefore we have to keep the hands very clean,” she added.

On why Ghana needs to mark the day with the rest of the global community,  the Extension Services Coordinator indicated that apart from interventions at the community level, the national celebration gives visibility to the Global Handwashing Day and reminds people on the need to wash their hands with soap.

Global Handwashing Day commemoration in the country is further intended to put the spotlight on the state of hand washing in Ghana, Mrs. Theodora Adomako-Adjei stated further.

“Anyone who is not washing the hand at the critical time is a carrier of disease-causing pathogens and the person is spreading these germs, so everyone must watch out,” she said.

According to the CWSA Extension Services Coordinator, marking of the day for five years in Ghana has brought about behavioural change in most Ghanaians.

She intimated that whereas hitherto there were sinks in only some few communities, now there are innovative handwashing facilities in most toilets. “People are using gallons, water bottles – it is because of the awareness that has been created, and I also [say] the fact that now you have people with sanitisers wherever they go, means that they are understanding the importance of the handwashing,” she explained.

Mrs. Adomako-Adjei also disclosed the findings of a study conducted by United Nations organisation UNICEF in nine districts of the three northern regions of Ghana in 2003, which indicated only 3 percent of mothers washed their hands before handling food, saying a recent study shows there has been a tremendous increase over that figure.

“In 2003 the study we conducted indicated that just about 3 percent of mothers washed their hands before handling food -  and there has been an increase to 57 percent,” she divulged.

In Ghana, Global Handwashing Day will be commemorated with regional durbars and a national durbar at the Efua Sutherland Park, Accra, also referred to as the Children’s Park under the theme; “Five years of Global Handwashing Day Celebration: Going Beyond the Fifth Birthday of Children”. The global theme however, is “Help More Children Reach Their 5th Birthday”.

It will be chaired by Hon. Sherry Ayitey, Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, while the keynote address will be delivered by Her Excellency Matilda Amissah-Arthur, Second Lady, Republic of Ghana.  

Handwashing with soap is one of the most cost effective ways to prevent diarrhoea disease and pneumonia, which together are responsible for approximately 3.5 million child deaths every year, says a press release issued by CWSA, the main organiser of the national durbar.

According to the agency,  more than 5,000 children under the age of five die every day as a result of diarrhoea diseases, caused in part by unsafe drinking water, lack of access to basic sanitation facilities and poor hygiene.

Meanwhile it has been established that by washing hands with soap, families and communities can help reduce child mortality rates from diarrhoea diseases by almost 50 per cent and respiratory infections by nearly 25 percent.

Burkina Faso’s Bissa Mine to Open in December

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE, BACK FROM OUAGADOUGOU

Bissa Gold's Ibrahim Ouedraogo Pit

The Bissa Gold Mine SA, which has been under construction since September 29, 2011, is scheduled for completion and opening in December 2012.

When production gets underway, the mine is expected to offer employment to between 500 and 700 of the riparian populations of Bissa, Imiougou, Bissighin and Sabce affected by the mine construction, who meet the requirements laid down for the exercise of such jobs and for which a procedure for recruitment has been developed in consultation with the Local Consultative Committee.

The new mine, which will become one of Burkina Faso’s large gold mines when completed, is 90%  owned by NORDGOLD,  a Russian company listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:NORD) with 10.6% of its shares made floated to the public.

NORDGOLD was established in 2007 and since then has evolved into one of the main international gold producers with eight mines in operation in four countries, which are, Canada, Russia, Guinea and South Africa.

The State of Burkina Faso, which becomes the fifth country for NORDGOLD’s operations, is also a 10% shareholder without financial contribution.

From March 2007 to 2010, NORDGOLD was able to mine 1,071,000 ounces of gold in its operations worldwide and has to date produced about 3,000,000 ounces but hopes to increase this by 300% with gold from the Bissa Mine.

Even though NORDGOLD has received a permit to mine 1.5 million tons of gold from the original 5km stretch of the Bissa Mine, they hope to mine about 3 million tons per year from an additional 10km untapped stretch, once production commences, using the open cast method of mining.

Announcing these to a team of West African Journalists who paid a visit to the mine site at Bissa in the rural district of Sabce, 90 km north of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital, Dr. Christian F. Oudraogo, Deputy General Director, Bissa Gold, said work is on schedule and most construction work has already been completed.

Work completed include resettlement communities comprising 350 housing units for 1,250 families, with social infrastructure such as mosques, churches and youth hall for relocated villages valued at over FCFA 2.2bn, and are expected to be fully occupied in the month of October, 2012.

Compensation covering 700 hectares of crops have also been paid to the tune of FCFA 750 million.

90% of work on the mine as well as 99% of progress on a dam on the Jamie River to retain surface water of up to 4.5 million m3 of water per year that will be used in processing the ore have also been completed.

“Safety measures have been put in place while floodable areas as a result of the dam have also been identified,” Bissa Gold’s Deputy Director General intimated to the journalists.

He however discounted assertions that the flooding of some communities recently was as a result of the dam, saying it was due to the torrential nature of the rain, which volume was unprecedented in recent times and had not been experienced in many years.

“The floods would have come all the same if there had been no dam,” he alluded, saying “Without water you cannot have any mine; that is why there are plans for the dam.”

The mine official divulged further that options they considered at the initial stages were construction of boreholes to get water for their operations or relying on an existing water source like the Volta River, from which they will pump water to store, while the last option was to build a dam, which they settled on, after much consideration and is situated about 14km east and 18km north of the mine’s processing plant from the town of Mane.

The dam’s maximum capacity is 101,000,000m³, while the length of the breakwater is about 2,148 m. When the tank is full at 300 m, it will however cover an approximate area of 2,853

hectares.   

According to Dr. Oudraogo, plans are also far advanced to divert the main National Highway No. 22 from the mine concession located between the provinces of Bam in Sabce and Sanmatenga in Mane, occupying an area of 130 km².

Meanwhile, having been granted a mining license on June 23, 2010, a mining convention was signed on May 29, 2012 between Bissa Gold SA and the State of Burkina Faso, to clarify the rights and obligations of the parties defined in the Mining Code and thus ensure the investor the stability terms expressly listed in the Convention.

Further, although the life span of the mine is seven years with two years of pre-production and construction, “studies are continuing on the mineral deposits in order to increase the life span of the mine,” the Deputy Director General disclosed.

It is expected that the Bissa Gold Mine will yield 4,300 tons of gold per day once production gets underway, even though the initial forecast was for 1.5 million tons per year.

Touching on steps taken for proper mine closure when all the ores have been mined, Dr. Christian Oudraogo said US$ 4.5 Million, which is 2.2% of the invested capital, has been dedicated to the closure and restoration of the industrial complex as a whole in the last year of the project and was estimated by applying a cost of US$ 0.08 for each ton of material excavated, as well as ore and waste rock.

According to Cecilia Jamasmie, a news editor at mining.com in her article “Gold mining to drive Burkina Faso’s growth but companies at risk” published on October 5, 2012, Burkina hosts over 30 exploration companies and seven functioning gold production plants, making the Bissa Mine when completed the eighth but with an added advantage of processing other minerals such as silver.

Burkina Faso, experienced an increase of 32% in Gold production  in 2011 at six gold mine sites, making the country the fourth largest gold producer in Africa, after South Africa, Ghana and Mali.

It is also the third most explored jurisdiction in Africa, and has gold as its third largest export after cotton and meat products and its most important mineral, although it has minerals such as manganese, bauxite, dolomite, copper, nickel, lead, phosphates and silver among others.