Accra, Oct. 18, GNA – Madam Cecelia Dapaah, the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, has called on colleague ministers of sanitation and health to make frantic efforts to prioritise issues of SDG-6 in their various countries.
She urged them to put in place local roadmaps towards achieving them, because "we cannot afford to fail our people in this regard".
Madam Dapaah was speaking at the opening of a two-day high level meeting to discuss Africa Regional efforts in achieving SDG 3 and 6 and to launch the WASH Strategy and Round II Reports in Accra.
Health and sanitation ministers and other stakeholders in the sector participated in the conference, which was on the theme: "Achieving SDG 6 and Safe Water for All: A Focus on Water Treatment and WASH in Healthcare Facilities".
Madam Dapaah said there was the need for Africa to focus on achieving local sustainability so that communities could successfully own, support and maintain their water systems to ensure quality drinking water.
The Minister said, however, that in spite of those successes, about 4,000 Ghanaian children still died annually from diarrhoea and an additional 23 per cent suffer from stunted growth and chronic malnutrition, which were linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation.
He said the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with related ministries and agencies, had made some strides in improving WASH services in health facilities to enhance the overall quality of clinical service.
He said the Ministry had also collaborated with UNICEF to initiate projects with an overall objective of developing a national strategy for WASH in healthcare facilities.
Dr Owen Kaluwa, the WHO Country Representative, said lack of access to safe water and adequate sanitation was one of the significant environmental risk factors to health.
"We need to form effective partnerships in the work we have to do together to improve on water and sanitation," he added.