Ghana Ready For Washington HLM

EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Ibrahim Musah, member of a national technical working group preparing a document to be presented at the first ever international High Level Meeting (HLM) on water and sanitation issues to be held in Washington on April 23, 2010, has disclosed that Ghana is not only ready to attend but is also poised to deliver a comprehensive compact to drum home the need for more support for the sector.

The compact, he revealed, captures government’s commitment, starts with an institutional analysis of Ghana’s water and sanitation sector and ends with key commitments that the Government of Ghana is making to the ministers of Development Cooperation at the developed countries.

Addressing journalists at a side meeting of  a National Council on Persons with Disability Workshop on Mainstreaming Disability Issues in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Services in Accra on Monday, he said Ghana will be represented at the HLM by a 7-member delegation led by the Minister of Finance, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor.

Ibrahim Musah added that the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Joseph Yieleh-Chireh, will deliver Ghana’s compact at the meeting, while the other delegation members will comprise the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, as well as some technocrats from the three ministries of Finance, Local Government and Water Resources.

Mr. Musah, who is also a Policy Manager at WaterAid Ghana (WAG), an international NGO,

divulged that Ghana’s compact mainly centres on issues of sanitation because the country’s performance in the sector since 1990, has been very poor.

“As we are well aware, sanitation takes centre stage in the compact because we know the situation of sanitation in the country, and therefore the three ministries, Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, together, agreed that sanitation should receive the highest priority,” he said.

He hinted that the UN Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water (GLASS) Report would soon be launched, as well as the Global Report, which tracks progress of water and sanitation in developing countries, and Ghana’s progress is nothing to be proud of.

According to the HLM National Technical Working Group member, Ghana has only been able to achieve an improved sanitation coverage of 13.4% from 7% in 1990 when the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was launched, which means there is a lot to be done, if the country’s target of 64% in improved sanitation is to be achieved.

“It means that the Ministry of Finance, and for that matter the Government of Ghana needs to put in more, in terms of financial resources,” he stated.

Quoting the WHO/Joint Monitoring Platform (JMP) definition of improved sanitation, he said improved sanitation refers to sanitation that is hygienically good. “There shouldn’t be contact between the human excreta and the human being,” he said.

He thus called for commitment from government to ensure that every household gets its own latrine.

He however commended government for approving the revised sanitation policy of the country by the end of March 2010, which is on its way to Parliament to be ratified, “which means that in terms of policy government has put in place the mechanism.”

Ibrahim Musah also expressed his joy that at the district level where the chunk of the sanitation problems are, the National Environmental Strategic Action Plan has been put in place and its counterpart at the district level – the District Environmental Strategic Action Plan, is almost through.

He opined that it means “government now needs to give a lot of resources to the districts and the national level institutions to deal with the sanitation challenges that we are facing.”

He added that it also means the private sector needs to team up with government to release resources for the policies to be implemented at all levels for the achievement of improved sanitation coverage.

Further stating his case for the need to increase improved sanitation coverage, Musah said for every $1 invested in sanitation $9 is gained by way of reduction in the country’s health burden and improved health such as reduction in diarrhoea cases, which also brings about increased school enrolment of the girl-child.

This he said, further results in increase in literacy rate and thus increased development, which is why apart from the policy provisions made by government, it needs to allocate more resources to the sector for the structures to function effectively.

Musah again called on government to ensure that those who need to implement the country’s policies do so without fear or favour and bye-laws of municipal, metropolitan and district assemblies such as that requiring residencies put up to have toilets, enforced.

He also called for appropriate mechanisms that will enable implementation of the water and sanitation policies that have been approved by government with a human face, such that people will have access to those facilities without discrimination.

He lamented that even in the water sector where Ghana seems to be making progress, there are still places in urban areas where people are deprived of the resource and have to travel long distances to look for water, which affects school attendance.

The HLM committee member reiterated that government will be saving so much money, if environmental sanitation is improved through an enabling environment that will allow participation of the private sector, adding that beyond Washington, government must release needed resources to the agencies that are working on the ground in sanitation and water directorate and the MMDAs, to ensure that all the laudable articles in the commitment that it will present in Washington, come April 23, 2010 are followed through.

The High Level Meeting (HLM) of Sanitation and Water for All is an annual ministerial dialogue at which Ministers of Finance from developing countries and Ministers of Development Cooperation from donor countries take stock of progress on sanitation and water, decide how to address challenges and monitor progress against concrete commitments.

On Friday, April 23, 2010, UNICEF will host the first ever annual HLM of Ministers of Finance and Ministers of Development Cooperation, who will gather in Washington DC to take stock of progress on sanitation and drinking water, and decide how to increase the performance and effectiveness of the sector.

• The discussion will focus on: How does investment in sustainable sanitation and drinking water drive economic and human development and progress toward all Millennium Development Goals?
• What are the steps countries can take to address current and future sanitation and drinking water challenges to ensure sustained economic growth and improve human development?
•  How can the global community work together to better support national efforts?

Ministers will bring concrete commitments of intent to address obstacles to accelerated progress towards sanitation and water for everyone and to hold others and agree to be held accountable for those commitments. It is anticipated that Ministers will use the High Level Meeting as an excellent opportunity to make or emphasise their concrete, specific commitments. 

The High Level Meeting aims to build on existing declarations, such as the Paris Declaration in aid Effectiveness, and the Sharm el Sheikh and eThekwini Declarations on sanitation and water in Africa, and not create duplicates.

It is expected that the first annual High Level Meeting will be attended by Ministers of Finance from ten to eighteen developing countries which are some of the most off-track for sanitation and water, accompanied by their Ministers responsible for sanitation and drinking water, and eight to ten Ministers of Development Cooperation.

It will also be attended by representatives of Development Banks, Civil Society (Northern

and Southern), multilateral development agencies (such as UNICEF, WHO, UNDP) and regional bodies such as the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW).