By
Mildred Siabi-Mensah, GNA
Ho, Nov. 09, GNA –
Participants at the 30th Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
conference have tasked government to urgently find solutions to the plastic
menace to save the environment and its associated health hazards to humanity.
Some of the
participants wondered why Ghana was first in signing conventions and other
international treaties but lagged seriously behind on issues of sanitation,
health and hygiene.
Mr. Patrick Apoya,
the Group CEO of SkyFox Limited a WASH company who spoke on “Improved
Sanitation and Health”, said achieving adequate and equitable access to
water and sanitation for all by 2030 could be hampered through such bad
environmental practices.
This year’s
conference, dubbed: “MOLE XXX centred” on “30 years of Multi-Stakeholder
WASH Dialogue: Reflections and Prospects” with sub themes including,
‘Drinking Water and Integrated Water Resources Management’, ‘Improved
Sanitation and Hygiene’, ‘Governance and Institutional Development’ and ‘Technology,
Innovations and Private Sector participation’.
He said, plastics 10
years ago, contributed only seven percent but now exceeded over 40 percent in
the waste stream, and that called for urgent solutions.
Mr Apoya expressed
the regret that the 500 kilometre coastline could only boost of plastics
instead of beautiful shores for tourism and income generation.
Dr. Stephen Ntow,
Director of WASHealth Solutions who spoke on ‘Governance and Institutional
Development’, mentioned that good governance in the sector was needed to
progress towards the 2030 target of the SDGs.
Mr. Ben Yaw Ampomah,
the Executive Secretary of the water Resources Commission said improving
sanitation and hygiene was key in addressing pollution of water sheds, saying,
“We need sustainable WASH management practices”.
He said good
hydrogeological information on water supply could aid in planning and service
delivery.
GNA
