Afadjato South, Nkwanta North top open defecation free league table
Ho (V/R), Nov.26, GNA-Afadjato South and Nkwanta North have been ranked top of the 2020 cumulative Open Defaecation Free (ODF) league table for the Volta and Oti Regions, respectively.
Afadjato South maintained their rank from the previous league table, while Nkwanta North moved from the second place to the first, this year.
Agortime Ziope in the Volta Region came second in the ODF league table and Kadjebi was ranked second from the Oti Region, but in the previous year, placed first.
In the Volta region, Adaklu, Kpando and Hohoe followed third, fourth and fifth respectively, while Jasikan, Krachi East and Nkwanta South followed respectively in the Oti Region.
Mr Peter Pariki-Kwashie, Volta Regional Community-led Sanitation (CLTS) focal person presented the ODF report to the Regional Interagency Coordinating Committee on Sanitation (RICCS) in Ho.
He said this year, out of the 200 ODF communities earmarked for study, only 70 communities were sampled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, representing 36 percent.
Mr Pariki-Kwashie explained that in the Volta region, 14 more ODFs was added by Plan International Ghana and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Oti Region had 56 more ODFs which were added from Global Community (GC) and UNICEF.
Mr Felix Chaahaah, Volta Regional Coordinating Director has urged the Municipal and District Assemblies in the region to step up their efforts on Sanitation in order to achieve a clean environment.
He noted insanitary and unclean environments were the basis of every disease conditions therefore it was the responsibility of everyone to keep the environment clean especially to eliminate open defaecation.
Mr Chaahaah called on the various Assemblies to ensure that anyone who came for building permits had provision for a toilet.
Mr Prosper Agbenyoo, Deputy Volta Regional Coordinating Director said he was impressed by the stakeholder’s contributions at the meeting, but lamented the zero percent recorded for Central, North and South Tongu Districts.
He said, »I wonder why the partners are not interested in these places, because the environmental issues there are not encouraging and I appeal to the partners to try the Tongu districts at least by salvaging one of them in order for the other two districts to emulate. »
Mr Agbenyoo also suggested that District Environmental Sanitation Strategy and Action Plan (DESSAP) should be prepared from the level community and not on the desk of Municipal Environmental Health Officers (MEHOS) and District Environmental Health Officers (DEHOS), which has to be updated electronically in order to have a complete data for a smooth running of CLTS.
Mr Bless Vieku, Afadjato South District Coordinator of Plan International Ghana WASH said they focused on the integration of rural water, sanitation and hygiene.
He said Plan International Ghana, a child oriented entity, had constructed toilets for some schools in the district, which included a dressing room for female students to be able to change their sanitary pads.
GNA
