Sanitation, drinking-water and hygiene: Health Issue in Ghana

Running Head: GLOBAL HEALTH 0
Global Health Issue
Sanitation, drinking-water and hygiene: Health Issue in Ghana
(Student Details :)
1/7/2019

Global Health 1
Executive Summary
The report is based on highlighting issues related to water, sanitation and hygiene in the
nation of Ghana. As there have been a lot of cases of diseases that are caused by drinking
water in Ghana. In this context, Ghana water and Sewage Company must provide enough
clean and safe drinking water to the public. However, the water company has been
unsuccessful in order to provide the service effectively in Ghana. Additionally, many reasons
have been quoted by the water company on their inability to execute efficiently.
Subsequently, the government decided to denationalise water companies within the cities in
order to facilitate safe access to clean and quality water for all. Therefore, the study is aiming
at identifying the relationship amid water management and health of Ghana public. Besides,
the discussion will be focused on how effective water management from full community
participation can facilitate providing adequate and clean drinking water. Moreover, this study
has used both qualitative and quantitative methods of research. On the other hand, this study
is relied on observations and selected literature reviews over the main topic of report. In this
way, discussions results have confirmed that drinking water associated diseases are on the
upsurge along with the majorly affected public being the poor living in informal regions of
the city in Ghana. Moreover, it has been found that majority of the public in the Ghana are
willing to avail good services which provide safe drinking water but they are unable to have
them because of the less of resources in Ghana. Contrary, many people are financially weak
due to high percentage of illiterates and they are even unable to access basic services to live.
Thus, community participation is must for the Ghana’s sanitation and hygiene improvement
where stakeholders need to play effective roles to improve water management. However,
SDGs set a high standard of safely managed water as well as sanitation services and still for
majority public the right to even an elementary level of access is remaining unmet in Ghana
as well as other countries of the globe.

Global Health 2
Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................1
Sanitation, Drinking-water and Hygiene....................................................................................3
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Sanitation, Drinking-water and Hygiene as a global health issue..............................................4
The global water crisis...........................................................................................................4
The power of water................................................................................................................5
A women's crisis....................................................................................................................5
A health crisis.........................................................................................................................5
Children’s education crisis.....................................................................................................5
An economic crisis.................................................................................................................6
Sanitation, Drinking-water and Hygiene as a health issue in Ghana.........................................6
Disease caused by Water Pollution in Ghana............................................................................7
Cholera...................................................................................................................................8
Symptoms...............................................................................................................................8
Treatment and prevention......................................................................................................8
SDG-6 and health issues in Ghana.............................................................................................9
MDG-7C and health issues in Ghana.......................................................................................11
Improved access to safe water..............................................................................................11
Improved access to good sanitation facilities.......................................................................11
Improved upgrading and housing slums..............................................................................11
Evaluation of the international policies developed by the United Nations, WHO and other
agencies....................................................................................................................................12
Global WASH health burden...............................................................................................12
Global Diarrhoea burden......................................................................................................13
Conclusion................................................................................................................................13
Recommendations....................................................................................................................14
References................................................................................................................................15

Global Health 3
Sanitation, Drinking-water and Hygiene
Introduction
In the nation of Ghana, around 6 million people which are 22 per cent of people of the nation
cannot access daily sanitation and water for the daily needs and this leaves them susceptible
to the water-associated disease and illness (Hanefeld, 2015). Furthermore, 67 per cent of
Ghanaians dearth access to developed sanitation, even without toilet services. Hence, 70 per
cent of total diseases in nation of Ghana are instigated through poor sanitation and unsafe
water (Buse & Hawkes, 2015).
Water, sanitation and hygiene associated diseases are the general public health issues
confronting Ghana as well as several developing countries. Thus the diseases related to water
sanitation in turn add to high risk issues for rest diseases which affect the population growth
directly. Although, a minor success has been established in order to reduce and even we are
nearly eradicating minor water, sanitation-related diseases, yet the threat modelled by this
health issue is still remaining (Commission on Social Determinants of Health, 2008).
Additional to the above mentioned diseases, unclean water sources and poor sanitation are
extremely interrelated with the persistence and spread of diseases like malaria, diarrhoea and
hepatitis. In this context, the estimated about total deaths from malaria in Ghana in the year of
2012 were in between 13, 000 and 22, 000, as well as according to WHO data unhygienic
environments have been associated to 20, 300 deaths in a year (WHO, 2014).
If we will go through the researches, journals, and books for the data representing causes of
these health issues then we will found that there are many factors that are contributing to the
health issues, they are: environment, economic and culture factors. Thus, according to a
report of survey conducted by the IRC Ghana (referred as International Water and Sanitation
Centre), a self-governing global non-profit organisation as well as its partners provides
national access to the basic sanitation which stands at 14 per cent (Skolnik, 2016).
Furthermore, Country Director of the IRC Ghana, who works in the department of safe water
supply, sanitation, and hygiene, recently disclosed that the nation was building slow growth
in attaining set targets for goal-6 of the Sustainable Development Goals (referred as SDGs),
for ensuring water and sanitation for global people by the year 2030 (Water Org, 2018).
Moreover, in order to establish the SDG targets, directional efforts will have to be