122 communities attain 'Open Defecation Free' status in Nkwanta North District

A total of 122 communities in the Nkwanta North District of the Oti Region have now attained Open Defecation Free (ODF) status.

This brings to 87.1 per cent the district’s ODF rate.

The feat was realised through a USAID-supported Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) for Health (W4H) project and implemented by Global Communities, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) over the past six years.

Mr Austin Amoako, District Wash Officer, said at a meeting on the project at Kpassa on Tuesday that more than 5,100 household latrines have been constructed in the district over the period, benefiting 40,000 people.

According to him, the district’s ranking on the national ODF league table had accordingly been elevated appreciably.

Mr Amoako said that the project, which off took in 2015 identified and trained 425 ‘natural leaders’ to aid the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) activities in the area.

Global Communities also constructed and rehabilitated 41 non-functional boreholes to provide safe water to some 16, 000 residents, including Tinjase which recently benefitted from a 100,000-litre capacity water system, he added.

Meanwhile, seven public schools have been provided with improved institutional latrines under the project.

So far, the NGO has trained more than 200 partners in the use of research-based WASH for Health Behavioural Change Communication materials, to help to sustain the gains of the project.

Mr James Lomotey, Regional Coordinator of the project described the project as a worthy move which would enhance other development sectors as well and also boost efforts to bring investments into the area.

The project which ends in September this year, has also trained 600 basic school girls and their parents in menstrual hygiene management.