Ghana to provide 550,000 people with improved water and sanitation services

The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved $125 million from the International Development Association for the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area Sanitation and Water Project (GAMA SWP). This additional financing will support the Government of the Republic of Ghana’s effort to reach 550,000 people in low-income urban communities of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GKMA) with improved sanitation and water supply services.

“Providing equitable access to safe and improved water supply and sanitation services is essential to improve people’s lives particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this project, we are committed to provide better access to water and sanitation to the most vulnerable, therefore improving lives and reducing poverty,” said Pierre Laporte, World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.

The additional financing to the GAMA SWP will also help strengthen the management of environmental sanitation services in the GAMA and GKMA. It will provide water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities to schools and healthcare facilities and promote handwashing. Households benefiting from toilets and/or water connections will benefit from handwashing facilities and relevant handwashing training.

The project will also improve coordination between key agencies and strengthen the capacity and performance of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies by reducing Non-Revenue Water, improving wastewater management, addressing issues of pollution, climate change, and translating development plans into focused actions. The Government of Ghana will replicate the successful GAMA SWP approaches in Kumasi, and further expand services to targeted beneficiaries. Overall, some of the key results include providing 250,000 people with household toilets; 200,000 people with institutional sanitation facilities; and 500,000 people with improved water services.

Original source: World Bank