Sanitation and the economy in Ghana
Sanitation extends beyond mere environmental cleanliness. It constitutes a significant economic concern, a developmental challenge, and a testament to our collective advancement as a nation. Ghana, like many developing nations, continues to struggle with the consequences of inadequate sanitation on its economy, public health, and overall quality of life. A thorough analysis reveals that sanitation encompasses more than waste management; it also pertains to productivity, investment, tourism, and the nation’s pride.
The World Bank estimates that Ghana loses nearly US$290 million annually due to poor sanitation, equivalent to approximately 1.6 per cent of the country’s GDP. These losses cover healthcare costs, lost productivity, premature deaths, and time spent managing sanitation issues. Every time a child contracts cholera, dysentery, or diarrhoea, a parent has to miss work. This decreases household income and reduces national productivity.
The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources further emphasised that diseases resulting from inadequate sanitation place a substantial burden on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Resources that could be allocated to infrastructure development, educational initiatives, or employment programmes are consequently redirected towards the treatment of avoidable diseases. Therefore, sanitation is fundamentally interconnected with economic growth.
We can analyse the economic impact of inadequate sanitation through three significant avenues.
1. Direct Healthcare Costs – Governments and households spend millions of cedis each year on treating sanitation-related diseases such as cholera, malaria, and typhoid fever. For example, the cholera outbreak of 2014 alone led to thousands of hospitalisations and economic losses amounting to millions.
2. Loss of Productivity – Employees who become ill or parents who need to care for sick children forfeit valuable working hours. This undermines industries and reduces Ghana’s competitiveness in the global marketplace.
3. Environmental and Agricultural Impact – Open defecation, indiscriminate waste disposal, and inadequate drainage systems pollute water bodies and soils. This phenomenon not only diminishes agricultural productivity but also escalates the costs associated with water treatment, thereby impacting both households and industries.
Tourism is also among Ghana’s potential growth sectors. However, the state of sanitation in our cities and towns remains a major deterrent for both local and international visitors. Beaches cluttered with plastic waste, open drains giving off foul odours, and choked gutters in urban centres create an uninviting scene.
Tourists who leave with a negative impression of sanitation conditions are less likely to return or recommend Ghana as a destination. This diminishes foreign exchange earnings and hampers efforts to promote Ghana as a clean, modern, and appealing country. Sanitation, therefore, has a direct connection to the growth of the hospitality industry and the tourism economy.
Every cedi spent on cleaning drains after floods or on emergency healthcare for sanitation-related illnesses is money that could have been used to build schools, roads, and digital infrastructure. Poor sanitation forces the government to adopt a “firefighting” approach, spending reactively instead of proactively investing in development.
On the other hand, studies show that every dollar invested in sanitation returns about five dollars in saved healthcare costs and improved productivity. This means that prioritising sanitation is not only a social necessity but also an economic strategy.
Ghana is urbanising rapidly. Cities like Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, and Tamale continue to grow, placing pressure on existing sanitation infrastructure. As urban populations continue to expand, waste management becomes increasingly complex and costly.
Improper waste disposal contributes to flooding, especially in Accra, where plastic waste chokes drains during heavy rains. Flooding damages property, displaces families, and destroys small businesses, resulting in significant economic losses. In 2015, the June 3rd disaster in Accra, partly caused by poor drainage and sanitation, resulted in hundreds of deaths and millions of cedis in losses. This tragedy served as a painful reminder that inadequate sanitation is not just an inconvenience but a threat to lives and the economy.
Interestingly, sanitation also offers economic opportunities. Thousands of Ghanaians make a living through waste collection, recycling, and composting. The plastic recycling industry, for instance, is gradually expanding and creating jobs for many young people.
If harnessed properly, waste management could become a significant sector of the economy, generating jobs, energy (through waste-to-energy plants), and raw materials for industries. This requires government support, private sector investment, and public awareness to transform waste from a burden into an asset.
No government can solve sanitation problems without the active involvement of citizens. Behavioural attitudes play a critical role. The culture of littering, open defecation, and neglecting communal responsibility continues to hinder progress.
The recent declaration of a National Sanitation Day on the first Saturday of each month aims to promote civic responsibility. While this initiative is commendable, its sustainability ultimately depends on citizens adopting sanitation practices as a daily obligation rather than a monthly activity. Maintaining clean environments is a collective duty, not solely the responsibility of the government or Zoomlion.
The private sector plays a significant role in advancing sanitation efforts. Entities such as Zoomlion Ghana Limited have made commendable contributions; however, the industry continues to face challenges concerning sustainability, accountability, and innovation. There is an imperative for increased competition and ingenuity within waste management services.
Innovations such as mobile applications for waste collection, prepaid sanitation services, and recycling incentives have the potential to improve efficiency and promote public engagement. Furthermore, sanitation should be integrated into corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, encouraging businesses to invest in the communities in which they operate.
President John Dramani, last Friday, officially launched the “National Sanitation Day”, declaring the first Saturday of every month “Sanitation Day”. This is a bold step aimed at tackling the growing challenge of poor sanitation and hygiene in Ghana. The initiative comes amidst the inability of many Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to enforce sanitation laws and the worrying trend of public indifference towards environmental cleanliness.
This declaration exceeds mere governmental initiatives; it constitutes an unequivocal summons to civic responsibility. For numerous years, inadequate waste management, obstructed drainage systems, indiscriminate littering, and open defecation have compromised the nation’s health and dignity. The data are unequivocal: preventable sanitation-related illnesses such as cholera, typhoid, and malaria persistently cause fatalities and deplete public health resources.
By designating a monthly nationwide clean-up day, the government is seeking to instil a culture of responsibility and to shift sanitation from being an occasional activity to a national habit. The initiative acknowledges that while the MMDAs have the statutory mandate to maintain sanitation, their effectiveness has been hampered by limited resources, weak enforcement mechanisms, and, in some cases, apathy..
Sanitation is equally a matter of mindset as it is of infrastructure. Educational campaigns within schools, markets, and communities are vital to cultivating a culture of cleanliness. Children who are educated in proper waste disposal from an early age are more inclined to maintain these practices into adulthood.
Behavioural change communication through radio, television, and social media must be sustained to remind citizens that sanitation is not optional. It is an integral component of national development and personal well-being.
In conclusion, sanitation in Ghana is intricately connected to the nation’s economy. Deficient sanitation imposes significant financial burdens, diminishes productivity, hampers tourism, and diverts governmental resources from essential development initiatives. Conversely, improvements in sanitation facilitate greater opportunities for economic growth, employment generation, and an enhanced standard of living.
Ghana’s achievement of sustainable development and the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are unattainable without a focus on sanitation. Urban cleanliness extends beyond mere aesthetics; it encompasses health, dignity, productivity, and the nation’s overall prosperity.
If our objective is to foster a robust economy, we must prioritise the creation of a clean nation. Sanitation, therefore, is not a subordinate concern. It constitutes the cornerstone of Ghana’s development.
BY NANA DR SIFA TWUM
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