SMALL TOWNS PIPED SYSTEMS

From the inception of the implementation of the NCWSP in 1994 to the 1st quarter of 2021, there has been significant acceleration in the delivery of water and sanitation facilities to rural communities and small towns in Ghana. Delivery figures for Piped Systems now stand at 71 for Small Communities Systems, 504 Small Towns Piped Schemes, 125 Limited Mechanised Systems and 15 GWCL Piped Connections.

POINT SOURCES (BOREHOLES/HAND DUG WELLS & RAIN CATCHMENT SYSTEMS)

The period also witnessed a cumulative delivery of 33,855  point sources for rural communities by the CWSA and its Sector partners. These represent 1,553 new hand-dug wells, 372 boreholes installed with Solar Pumps and 18,009 new boreholes fitted with hand pumps provided by CWSA. The remaining 13,921 were provided by other sector partners.  Rehabilitated facilities by CWSA also include, 100 Rehabilitated Hand-Dug Wells, 4,580 Rehabilitated Boreholes as well as 4,230 Converted systems and 110 Rainwater Catchment Systems have also been completed.

One of the major objectives of the NCWSP was for the CWSA to maximize health benefits by integrating the provision of potable water, improved sanitation facilities and hygiene promotion interventions. However, in line with the policy changes that were going on at the Environmental Health and Sanitation Division (EHSD) of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) within the period, CWSA had to redefine and refocus the approach to sanitation delivery and hygiene promotion in its beneficiary communities. The measures   that were adopted as part of the ongoing changes or paradigm shift included the following:

Hand Washing with Soap Initiative: CWSA in collaboration with the World Bank and some private sector companies launched the Public Private Partnership in Hand Washing with Soap (PPPH), in Accra in 2003. This mass communication campaign to promote hand washing with soap was aimed at improving personal hygiene especially among feeding mothers, child care providers and children in order to minimize the incidence of diarrhoea which has been recognized to be the second biggest killer of children globally. The campaign was launched in all regional capitals and Districts in Ghana. Assessment of the communication campaign was also carried out and the results showed that the campaign had greatly impacted positively on Ghanaians especially women and children. Consequently, the advertisement on hand washing with soap – OBAATAMPA HOHORO WO NSA- was adjudged the best television advert in 2003 by CIMG and awarded accordingly.

This global initiative is also aimed at inculcating in people the sense and habit of washing their hands with soap under running water at critical times. Critical times include after use of the toilet, before meals or ingesting food or after rendering care giving services such as nursing the sick or cleaning a baby. The focus after the successful mass communication campaign is now on reproducing and distributing hand washing information and educational materials, celebration of the annual Global Hand Washing Day to highlight benefits of hand washing with soap. Other activities include undertaking orientation programmes for  food vendors, caterers of School Feeding Program, Traditional Birth Attendants, market women, religious leaders, sanitation guards (under National Youth Employment Programme), as well as awareness creation on the prevention of the pandemic influenza H1N1, the annual cholera epidemic and hosting the media and school children on the hand washing initiative.

CWSA has made invaluable contributions to the development of the School Health Education Programme (SHEP) of the Ghana Education Service in the area of Technical Assistance for development of SHEP Policy and training of school teachers on the promotion of hygiene in schools and operation and maintenance of institutional latrines.

Within the period of implementation of the NCWSP, the focus of CWSA has not only been on Water. Hygiene promotion and Sanitation have been recognized as key components in the effort towards improving the lives of rural people. Though the delivery of sanitation facilities has been slow, CWSA has over the years improved access to decent sanitation facilities across the country with the construction of 102,846 household latrines and 6,034 Institutional KVIP latrines making a total of 108,880 latrines. The campaign on good sanitation and environmental hygiene now focuses on new strategies such as:

• Adoption and mainstreaming of Community Lead Total Sanitation (CLTS) Strategy into all CWSA WASH Projects. CLTS is an integrated approach towards achieving and sustaining Open Defecation Free (ODF) status in communities. It empowers community members to analyse their sanitation conditions and take collective action to change their situations. It focuses on collective change of attitudes and behaviour from all community members towards stopping Open Defecation completely. The CLTS approach to sanitation delivery has been used to replace the provision of subsidies to households for building toilets but rather “triggers” them to harness community level capabilities and capacities to attain open defecation free status. So far, 786 communities have been declared open-defecation free. The Agency entered a total of 1,070 new communities by the end of 2020.

• Repackaging of latrine artisan training to incorporate entrepreneurial and marketing skills for the artisans. This involves the introduction of the sanitation ladder, sanitation markets and training of the latrine artisans in how to construct the various technology options available.

The NCWSP is fully operational in all the sixteen regions in Ghana.  At the community level, 26,445 Water and Sanitation Management Teams (WSMTs) have been formed for point sources and over ninety percent trained. Between 1994 and 2020, 1,625 Small Towns Water and Sanitation Management Teams have also been formed and trained. The CWSA has also trained 477 Environmental Health Assistants in water and sanitation.

PRIVATE SECTOR CAPACITY BUILDING

In all, about 475 Technical Assistance Firms, 2,067 Area Mechanics, 32,359 Pump Caretakers, 6,050 latrine artisans and 566 Small Town Operators have been put in place and are currently providing goods and services in the sector. A good number of fully-fledged Ghanaian drilling companies have been formed and are constantly competing with foreign companies in the provision of water systems construction services.

The CWSA’s activities have lent support to government’s overall programme of good governance at the local level and ‘Water For All’ agenda. The CWSA since May 2017 has embarked on the much awaited reform of the Rural Water and Sanitation Sub-Sector with the aim of providing professional management for the Small Towns Piped Systems to ensured sustained delivery of safe, quality and affordable water to beneficiary communities and to accelerate the achievement of the SDG 6.

The Agency has also championed a couple of innovations and these include:
The Mwacafe Iron Removal Plant: This is a locally designed iron removal plant by one of CWSA’s Engineers (Ing. Worlanyo Siabi).  It has been extensively tested and found to be very efficacious in removing elements such as iron and manganese found in ground water.