WaterAid has been working in Ghana since 1985 helping the most vulnerable in society gain access to safe water supplies, sanitation and hygiene education.
Rakiya Abdullah proudly shows off her newly constructed latrine in Sagnarigu, Tamale.
WaterAid / Jon Spaull
Although nationally over 70% of the population has access to safe water, this masks inequalities between rural and urban areas. The national figure with access to sanitation, meanwhile, is less than 20%.
In Ghana WaterAid works in partnership with eight local partner non governmental organizations (NGOs), who carry out the day to day management of water, sanitation and hygiene education projects in six out of ten of the country's regions.
We offer our partners financial support, training and technical advice as well as assistance with planning, budgeting and institutional development.
WaterAid has also developed strong links with policy makers in Ghana and plays a role in influencing the formulation of national water and sanitation policies.
Watch a video about life without safe water in Ghana.
WaterAid's achievements to date
- WaterAid has helped more one million people in Ghana gain access to safe water
- WaterAid has helped its partners become independent organizations. Together they are now able to carry out more project work in Ghana
- WaterAid is developing its fundraising activities in Ghana. Successes so far include substantial funds from the Standard Chartered Bank Ltd
Athea drinking water from a hollowed out gourd
Credit: WaterAid / Jon Spaull
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All of WaterAid's projects in Ghana use technologies that are appropriate to local conditions, affordable for even the poorest communities and easy to maintain.
To ensure sustainability in the long term communities are encouraged to take ownership of their projects. They are involved in all stages of the work, from the planning through to the building, maintenance and management.
For water supplies, projects focus on hand-dug wells where water is lifted using a rope pump or a handpump.
Better sanitation is promoted through the use of Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) latrines, while village health coordinators educate the wider communities on good hygiene practices.
In the city of Tamale WaterAid's partners look at ways of preventing major diseases such as trachoma, the leading cause of preventable blindness spread through contaminated water and poor hygiene. In addition, nylon water filters are distributed to help stop the spread of guinea worm.
Download WaterAid's information sheet on Ghana (PDF 320.21KB)
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