Sanitation is one of the biggest problems facing the country
Actors in the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector have called on the government to provide strong financing in the sector in the 2025 Budget, which is to be presented on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, to help boost the sector’s performance.
The actors said that strong government financing toward the sector would critically bridge the gap in access to WASH services and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on WASH by 2030.
“Without sustainable investments, Ghana risks failing to achieve universal access by 2030, further deepening inequalities and stalling economic growth,” the sector players said in a release signed by Ibrahim Musah, Head of Policy, Strategy, and Campaigns at WaterAid Ghana.
The release urged, therefore, that “As the government embarks on its ‘Resetting Ghana’ agenda, the upcoming national budget presents a critical opportunity to transform the WASH sector.”
The release reminded the government of the 2024 Election manifesto pledge by President John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to expand social services to promote equity and social justice, with a key focus on WASH, recognising it as a critical sector requiring political prioritisation and sustainable funding to catalyse progress in other areas of the Ghanaian economy.
According to the release, the NDC also showed further commitment to WASH by its endorsement of the WASH Manifesto prepared by the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS) ahead of the 2024 Election.
It said this WASH Manifesto endorsed by the NDC and other political parties emphasized the need for increased financing and policy attention to achieve universal access to basic water and sanitation services by 2030.
“As the administration prepares to unveil its financial plan, stakeholders are keen to see how these commitments will translate into actionable policies and budgetary allocations, particularly in the WASH sector, to foster comprehensive national development,” the release urged.
The 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) Report by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) estimates water coverage to be 87.7 percent, albeit with serious inequalities in access between urban and rural areas, men and women, as well as boys and girls.
Sanitation coverage is still low, estimated to be around 25.3 percent, with both solid and liquid waste management situations in Ghana still very poor. Hygiene coverage is around 50 percent with debilitating challenges in promoting effective hand hygiene post-COVID-19.
The sector remains one of the least funded, receiving below one percent of government expenditure since 2016, with higher donor funding, which is unsustainable.
Estimates from the Ghana WASH Sector Development Programme indicate that the sector needs an investment of 1.7 billion U.S. dollars per annum up to 2030 for Ghana to achieve water, sanitation, and hygiene for all.
“To accelerate the achievement of SDG-6, the government of Ghana must increase investment in sanitation and hygiene at household, schools, and healthcare facility levels,” the release stressed.
VA/AE
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