The Swiss Red Cross in collaboration with the Ghana Red Cross says it will soon provide selected health facilities and schools in the Upper East Region water and hygiene facilities under the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project.
According to the agency, the move is to complement government’s efforts for the achievement of universal access to WASH facilities and to also help Ghana achieve the sustainable development goals.
Speaking to Citi News, at a stakeholder meeting on health in Bolgatanga, Country Coordinator of the Swiss Red Cross, Mr. Thomas Oyugi Okollah said, although they are ready for the project, a baseline report is yet to be finalized for beneficiaries.
“So, we are going to provide water not just for drinking but water to address health issues, And we are considering health centers and schools because this is where our children take a lot of their time and if the facilities do not have water, the possibility of contracting unhygienic infections is high.”
“But if they can address their sanitation issues very well in schools, churches, mosques and health centers we hope that they will influence proper hygiene in their homes to eliminate diseases and infections associated with inadequate WASH facilities,” he added.
He added that, resources for the implementation of the project are ready but are at the final stage of designing based on a baseline survey for implementation in the next three months.
“We cannot determine how many WASH facilities we will be providing in the region for now. So, our baseline survey will inform us of facilities that need these WASH facilities and those that should be rehabilitated, then we can put a figure to the number of facilities we will be providing”.
Mr. Okollah said the project will trigger the practice and discussions on proper sanitation and hygiene among the target groups which will then be transferred to the household level to address WASH-related issues.
The stakeholder meeting of partners in health was to share various interventions partners are implementing in the region and highlight other areas for possible intervention to enhance service delivery in the region.
For his part, Upper East Regional Director of health services, Dr. Winfred Ofosu described the stakeholder engagement as critical to mapping partners and their programmes in the region to enable them track their impact.
He further urged partners to work in synergy by sharing resources to enhance health care delivery in the region.
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By: Frederick Awuni | citinewsroom.com | Ghana