World Vision urges assemblies to promote sanitation

World Vision Ghana (WVG) , a child focus non-governmental organization (NGO), has called on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs)  to enact and enforce by-laws to promote sanitation.

Mrs Eugenia Atami, Area Development Programme  Manager of WVG in charge of the Kassena Nankana  West District,  made the call at a durbar  at Sirigu, near Navrongo,  which attracted traditional rulers , assembly members,  teachers  and other opinion leaders.

The event  was organised by WVG  to map out strategies to address issues on sanitation, which is a major problem in the  district.

Mrs Atami said that if MMDAs were able to pass bylaws and to enforce them strictly, the problem of open defecation, littering  of the environment with plastic  bags would have been solved.

She called for the continuation of the late President Atta Mills’ initiative on sanitation, saying : “there is the need for government to ensure that the late President’s initiative on sanitation is revived to help curb diseases that are  associated with poor sanitary conditions  to reduce the high cost of government expenditure on health.

Mrs Atami said as part of WVG contribution towards addressing the problem, it was implementing the   “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene” (WASH) programme, which supported about 200 households in the Sirigu area to construct latrines in 2011.

She said WVG had also provided water to some schools in the area and prevented school children from   go going home to drink water during classes.

Mrs Atami said the NGO ensured that communities that demanded water facilities from WVG adopted  good sanitation practices.

Mr Josiah Aduah Ayipaala , the Development facilitator in charge of WASH, asked opinion leaders to champion the crusade against poor sanitation and.

At the end of the durbar, stakeholders agreed to undertake clean up exercises  periodically, sensitise the community members about good sanitation practices, and to ensure that the assembly passed and enforce by-laws on sanitation.

Source: GNA