Mr Yaw Atta Arhin, Water ,Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)Technical Specialist, World Vision Ghana, has stated that open defecation is a threat to public health and urged stakeholders and policy makers at the Water and Sanitation sector to put pragmatic measures in speeding up the progress in the fight against open defecation, as a threat to public health.
He urged the government through policy makers to collabote with all stakeholders in the second to launch and implement the roadmap for ending open defecation, establish a National Sanitation Authority to enforce the building code and MMDA bye-laws, adopt and implement innovative approaches to ensure increased access to household toilets
According to him, although, while Ghana has achieved notable progress in terms of access to safe water, it is disappointing that the same cannot be said about environmental issues.
The World Vision Ghana’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Technical Specialist is of the view that, progress towards ending open defecation and ensuring improved sanitation for all continues to be very slow.
Speaking to the Chronicle Newspaper reporter in Kumasi towards establishment of the Media Coalition on open defecation (M-CODe) on Open Defecation Free Stakeholder Engagement Platform as well as the launch of the Eastern Regional branch of the M-CODe.
He stated that, the training’s goal was to hasten the fight against the practice in the area because the country depends on its eradication by 2030.
Mr. Arhin tasked M-CODe to step up its efforts across the nation through creative campaigns, the employment of well-known individuals as open defecation-free ambassadors, and the regular use of conventional and social media.
Mr. Francis Ameyibor, the M-CODe National Convenor, noted that the media coalition aims to foster collaboration among media professionals and other stakeholders in order to identify problems and operational gaps and work towards a common objective in the battle against open defecation.
Mr. Ameyibor expressed the need for stakeholders to collaborate with the media in order to end open defecation.
He commended the World Vision Ghana for supporting the “M-CODe 2023 Anti-Open Defecation Nationwide Advocacy efforts, which include the journalist empowerment event and launch.
