World Vision Ghana has called for stronger collaboration among district authorities, development partners and stakeholders to accelerate progress toward universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services across the country.
Speaking at a stakeholder engagement and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing event in Bolgatanga, the Associate Director for WASH at World Vision Ghana, Robel Wamisho, stressed that achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 requires ensuring safe water and sanitation services reach all communities by 2030.
He explained that the initiative is focused on bringing stakeholders together to align efforts and strengthen the joint implementation of WASH programmes in the four focus districts in the Upper East Region, Garu, Tempane, Bawku West and Builsa South.
He emphasised that the signing of agreements with district assemblies represents an important milestone in advancing the universal WASH agenda. According to him, the agreements will guide planning, resource mobilisation and implementation while ensuring that all partners work in a coordinated manner to deliver services effectively.
“What we have done here today is an important milestone in the journey towards reaching everyone everywhere in the targeted districts with sustainable WASH services.
“The Memorandum of Understanding that is formally signed today will serve as a living document to bring us together in the planning, resource mobilisation and implementation journey. These MoUs will also help us align our efforts, our resources, our expertise and guide the WASH Universal Service Coverage programme implementation in the field,” he said.
He further noted that WASH is not only about infrastructure but also a key driver of health, dignity, equity and opportunity. He explained that access to safe water and sanitation underpins development outcomes across sectors such as education, health and economic growth.
Mr. Wamisho highlighted the need for innovative financing, strong governance, data-driven decision-making and active community participation to achieve universal coverage. He also called on stakeholders to ensure that implementation goes beyond information sharing to producing real, measurable improvements in communities.
He stressed the importance of sustainability, urging district partners to ensure proper maintenance and long-term use of facilities that will be provided under the programme. According to him, sustained impact will depend on how well communities and institutions manage the infrastructure after installation.
“Building infrastructure in our areas is one thing, sustainably managing them and using them for the long term is another thing.
“I think I want to appeal to everyone to pay special attention to sustainably managing and using the facilities that will be provided as part of the universal WASH programme. World Vision will also be working with you to introduce some innovations in this regard that will enable us to help manage water facilities and sanitation facilities in a sustainable manner.”
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