Dr. Justice Aduko, a lecturer and Project Manager of Blue Deal Ghana at the Water Resources Commission in the Upper East Region, has called for a shift from Ghana’s centralized sanitation strategy to a more localized, area-based approach to effectively address sanitation challenges nationwide.
Speaking on A1 Radio following the recent National Sanitation Day exercise, Dr. Aduko commended the government for the initiative but stressed the need for a community-driven model that promotes local ownership and participation.
According to him, while the government’s idea of designating a single national sanitation day is commendable, it does not account for the cultural and social differences across various communities.
“I think we should localize it more. For example, in the southern sector, some communities have taboo days—days that nobody goes anywhere. Engage community opinion leaders and chiefs to come up with their own dates when they can regularly organize cleaning exercises,” he suggested.
Dr. Aduko noted that enforcing a uniform national sanitation day often leads to low participation, as the chosen date may not align with local schedules or traditions.
“If we don’t select days that sit well with the people themselves, what happens is that you institute a national day for the whole country, but participation drops over time,” he explained.
He further encouraged the government to intensify sanitation awareness campaigns and deepen collaboration with traditional authorities, assemblies, and local leaders.
“What the government has done is fantastic, but they need to engage communities more. I like that this time around, they involved traditional authorities and assemblies. However, it should go further—local communities should be empowered to set their own cleaning days,” Dr. Aduko said.
Highlighting the public health impact of poor sanitation, he warned that sanitation-related diseases continue to claim lives daily.
“If we check all our disease burdens across the country, many are sanitation-related. Every hour, someone dies from malaria or diarrhoea. It’s affecting our economy, our well-being, and our security—and it’s even worse among children because they are more vulnerable,” he said.
Dr. Aduko’s remarks come as various districts across the Upper East Region joined the nationwide sanitation exercise aimed at promoting environmental cleanliness and reducing health risks associated with poor sanitation.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1 MHz|Moses Apiah| Bolgatanga
