Bongo district chief executive, Peter Ayinbisa, has revealed that out of the one hundred and sixty eight (168) communities in the seven town area council with a total number of fifteen thousand, one hundred and eight (15,108) households, only twenty nine (29) of them have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF).
Mr. Ayinbisa made the revelation on Friday, during the re-launch of open defecation free in Bongo district.
According to him, it was necessary to re-launch the ODF campaign in the Bongo district to deepen knowledge, attitudes and behavior change practices to ensure that the entire communities in bongo district are declared ODF before September 2019 which is the period set aside for the regional deadline.
“The number of households toilet constructed so far is six hundred and twenty (620) and the number of household toilets with washing facilities is 423. The percentage or figures in respect of all the above toilet facilities are below50% hence there is the need to stop up the CLTS implementation processes in the District. It is against this background that the District Assembly and all relevant stakeholders have decided to re-launch the Open Defecation Free (ODF) campaign to deepen knowledge, attitudes and behavior change practices to ensure that the entire communities in the district are declared ODF before September 2019.”
However, Mr. Ayinbisa also used the opportunity to challenge the district assembly members to work hard in making sure their electoral areas are declared open defecation free. He indicated the assembly has set aside a reward package for the first electoral area that meets the target.
Meanwhile, the upper east regional minister Rockson Ayine Bukari who was present to launch the ODF campaign described poor sanitation and hygiene in the region as a worrying issue. He added that over 74 percent of the population in the region engages in open defecation.
According to the minister, out of 1,990 communities in the region, only 385 are open defecation free.
He lauded the Bongo district for their efforts and improvement in sanitation since 2012 especially in community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS).
“It is thus my fervent hope that, the good people of Bongo are going to serve as a focal point or a shining example for the rest of the 14 districts in the region to emulate”.
He entreated the Assembly and people of Bongo to renew their commitment by working tirelessly to achieving ODF target before the deadline.
Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen|A1radioonline.com|Ghana
