The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR) has initiated the URBAN-WASH project in Ghana, with support from USAID.
This project aims to strengthen urban resilience by building and applying new evidence in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) practices.
Launched under the MSWR’s guidance, this USAID-backed initiative seeks to enhance water and sanitation initiatives across urban areas in Ghana.
The URBAN-WASH project holds great promise in addressing critical challenges and advancing sustainable WASH practices in the country.
Spanning a duration of five years (2021-2026), the URBAN-WASH project, supported by USAID, is a research and learning activity designed to generate valuable evidence through practical research.
The primary objective is to foster the implementation of sustainable, equitable, and climate-resilient policies and programs in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) as well as Water Resources Management within urban and peri-urban regions.
By focusing on applied research, this initiative aims to drive positive change and promote effective strategies in Ghana’s urban water and sanitation sector.
The key objective of the URBAN-WASH project is to fill knowledge gaps among Service Providers and Government institutions in USAID priority countries, including Ghana. It aims to enhance the evidence base necessary for informed decision-making processes.
By focusing on these goals, the project seeks to strengthen the capacity of stakeholders and improve their ability to make well-informed decisions regarding water, sanitation, and hygiene in urban settings.
The research conducted under the URBAN-WASH project will have a dual focus. Firstly, it will concentrate on pro-poor subsidy initiatives in Accra, aiming to identify scalable, financially sustainable, and effective projects that effectively reach the most vulnerable populations.
Secondly, the research will primarily center around water quality, water equity, and non-revenue water in Kumasi and Tamale. This comprehensive approach will contribute to a deeper understanding of these critical areas and facilitate the development of targeted strategies and interventions to address the specific challenges faced in each location.
Mrs. Patricia Sampson, the Director of Administration at the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR), delivered the keynote address on behalf of the Minister during the project launch.
She highlighted that the research aimed to tackle the various challenges encountered by the country and expressed gratitude for Ghana’s fortunate selection as one of the participating countries.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, I am extremely happy that this project is being implemented now as it will enhance efforts that Government and Partners are already making to provide sustainable water and sanitation services in the country. It also aligns with the Ministry’s WASH Sector Development Programme (GWASHSDP) 2021-2030 launched two weeks ago,” she stated.
She said even though evidence showed that access to basic water services in urban areas stood at 96.4 per cent per the Ghana Statistical Service Population and Housing Census, 2021, there was evidence that some segments of the population within the lower income group still lack access to basic water services.
“The Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources has made and is still making great efforts to make WASH services accessible to all. Several strategies are therefore being adopted to ensure universal water access,” Mrs Sampson stated.
She expressed gratitude to the USAID, Aquaya and other development partners who have shown their willingness to support the initiative.
Mr Daniel Asseh Allan, Senior Manager Water Utilities Performance Monitoring- PURC in the early 2000s PURC through its social policy study realised that the poor paid more for water than those connected.
“Through various engagement with stakeholders including study tours of some African countries it became clear that the poor were a key and peculiar stakeholder in the urban water value chain.
“Kenya decided to take care of its urban poor by doing pro poor interventions because they realised that if you do not take care of them, they can vandalise your system and still get water while your
costs increase through loss of water and negatively affect water quality in the distribution systems and even reduce pressures and thus ability to serve utility customers,” Mr Allan stated.
He noted: “If the poor do not get water, even if they do not vandalise the system, they are less likely to report when they see bursts and rather capitalise on it to get water.
The Senior Manager said over the years PURC worked with Ghana Water Company Limited to encourage the creation of a Pro Poor unit to help in this endeavour and that “We have been involved with many studies and interventions over the years to promote the progress of these pro poor programs.”
Mr Allan said looking at the sector it had been important to look at the full integrity of the system in terms of not just water and its quality but Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) as well.
“We are very pleased with this study and this launch and ready to contribute to ensure that Ghana’s Water Sector gains from evidence that has been gathered from around the world and for Ghana to share its own knowledge as the sector grows and improves especially with a view to apply new evidence to the progress of the sector.”