Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia has reiterated the commitment of government to investing about $740 million in water systems of the country.
Such investment, he indicated, will go a long way to increase access to clean drinking water to 87 percent in the country.
Speaking during the commissioning of a town water project in Tuna in the Savannah Region, he said the successes chalked by government in providing potable drinking water for rural and urban dwellers had reduced sanitation related diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
“We all know that under the United Nations SDG, Goal Number Six, it is a goal for us to attain clean water sanitation for all. In this regard, the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has had a policy of water for all,” he said.
This water for all policy, the Vice-President noted, had resulted in an investment programme of about $740 million dollars in terms of investment in water systems in various towns and communities.
No cholera outbreak
Dr. Bawumia further revealed that Ghana had over the last five years not recorded a single case of cholera due to the huge investments made to provide clean drinking water. He added that it also increased the overall access to water to 87 percent, 96 percent for urban access, whilst rural access stands at 74 percent.
“If you will all avert your minds; Ghana has not had a single case of cholera in the last five years. Not one single case of cholera,” he stated.
Ghana, he said, recorded its worst outbreak of cholera in 2014, with eight out of its 10 regions being affected. The cholera outbreak started in June 2014 and continued to 2015.
By the end of January 2015, when the outbreak was finally contained, there were over 28, 000 cases, with 243 deaths recorded in all regions of Ghana.
$5.6 m projects
Meanwhile, the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, on Monday commissioned a $5.6 million Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project at Kwadaso, a suburb of Kumasi in Ashanti Region.
She assured that the government would continue to ensure WASH facilities are provided, irrespective of the current financial challenges.
She said the access to adequate water facilitates proper hygiene, hence curbing the spread of diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea in the country.
Mrs Dapaah assured that the government would continue to create the enabling environment for all stakeholders to ensure continuity in the provision of WASH services.
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