Upper East battles open defecation as 63% lack toilet access

November 5, 2026

2 minutes read

Mr Joshua Baidoo (inset) addressing participants at the Regional Hand Hygiene and WASH Leadership Summit

WORLD Vision Ghana has urged stakeholders to move from awareness to action on water, sanitation and hygiene, as 63 per cent of Upper East residents still practise open defecation.

The Interim National Director of the organisation, Mr Joshua Baidoo, said the situation threatens public health and undermines Ghana’s efforts to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Six, which focuses on clean water and sanitation.

Target 6.2 of the goal calls for adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all by 2030, an end to open defecation, and special attention to the needs of women, girls and vulnerable groups.

Mr Baidoo was speaking at the Regional Hygiene and WASH Leadership Summit 2026 in Bolgatanga, the regional capital, yesterday. The summit was held under the theme: “Be a Handwashing Hero – From Awareness to Action: Accelerating Infrastructure, Policy and Financing for Hygiene”.

He said the summit would mean little unless its outcomes were turned into action, and that underserved communities must have safe water, decent sanitation facilities and the means to practise good hygiene.

“Today, we gather not merely to mark a day on the calendar, but to reaffirm our collective responsibility to protect lives, strengthen communities, and create a healthier future for all,” he stated.

He described handwashing with soap as one of the simplest and most cost-effective public health interventions available.

“A simple act that takes less than a minute can prevent disease, reduce child mortality, improve school attendance, protect healthcare environments, and contribute significantly to economic productivity and national development,” he added.

Mr Baidoo explained that despite sizeable investments by World Vision Ghana and its partners, the challenges remained enormous. He described it as disturbing that millions of people across Africa, including many households in local communities, still lacked basic handwashing facilities, reliable water services and adequate sanitation.

The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Donatus Atanga Akamugri, commended World Vision Ghana for convening the summit. He said the WASH crisis had not been adequately addressed by successive governments.

He added that the National Democratic Congress (NDC)-led government had not given up and was investing heavily in water infrastructure for communities facing acute shortages.

Lasting change, he emphasised, depended on partners aligning around a common vision. He pledged that the government, under President John Dramani Mahama, would strengthen its working relationship with World Vision Ghana, academia and other development partners.

He also encouraged World Vision Ghana, corporate organisations and other partners to align with the Prosperity through Enterprise, Agriculture, Resilience and Livelihoods (PEARL) Framework, a 10-year development plan for the region.

FROM FRANCIS DABRE DABANG, BOLGATANGA

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