Accra: The Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS) and IRC Ghana have organized a national engagement to present early insights from a study aiming to identify the drivers and barriers to advancing safely managed water services in rural Ghana.
According to Ghana News Agency, the meeting assembled government representatives, development partners, civil society organizations, private sector actors, and researchers to discuss the study’s findings and provide recommendations for national policy and planning. The study, ‘Drivers and Barriers to Advancing Safely Managed Water Services in Rural Ghana,’ is part of ongoing efforts to understand the slow progress toward safely managed water services in many parts of the country, despite substantial investment and reforms in the water sector.
Mrs. Basilia Nanbigne, Executive Secretary of CONIWAS, stated that the forum was designed to foster dialogue and learning among sector stakeholders. She emphasized the importance of focusing not only on infrastructure but also on governance, financing, monitoring, and community engagement in achieving safely managed water services.
Mr. Jeremiah Atengdem of IRC Ghana noted that the study’s findings would contribute to ongoing national discussions on achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6, which aims to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. He called for enhanced collaboration among government agencies, NGOs, and local authorities to strengthen water governance, ensuring that all Ghanaians, regardless of location, benefit from safely managed and sustainable water services.
The engagement also reviewed lessons from the Asutifi North Ahonidie Mpontuo (ANAM) initiative, which introduced a comprehensive district-wide approach to achieving sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services for all residents by 2030. The success of the ANAM approach has inspired its expansion to the remaining five districts in the Ahafo Region, targeting universal WASH access for nearly 600,000 people by 2030.
Participants highlighted the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships, sustained investment, and effective local governance in ensuring reliable and equitable water services in rural areas. They also emphasized the need to build local capacity and integrate community voices into planning and decision-making processes.
The discussions brought attention to persistent challenges such as inadequate financing, weak monitoring systems, and limited coordination among institutions responsible for water service delivery. Stakeholders underscored that safely managed water services extend beyond access to include quality, affordability, and reliability elements, which remain uneven across rural communities.