Increasing the number of children growing up in a hygienic environment at home and in school.

Healthy Future for All (HF4A) is a three-year programme (2022-2024) in Ghana that seeks to uplift community water supply, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and nutrition conditions in two districts in the Upper West region of Ghana. Supported by The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust (Helmsley), the programme will help realise a more hygienic environment at home, in schools, and in health care facilities to improve the living conditions and development opportunities for children under 15 years of age.

In view of the Government of Ghana’s ambition to reach universal access to drinking water by 2025 and eliminate open defecation by 2030, the HF4A programme commits its support to achieve the following outcomes:

• positive WASH and nutrition behaviour change among key target audiences – households, schools, and health care facilities;

• stronger supply chains, services, and financing for water and sanitation infrastructure;

• improvements in the functionality of water and sanitation infrastructure; and

• stronger and more inclusive WASH governance.

Implemented in the Upper West region’s districts of Nandom and Lambussie, HF4A will apply SNV’s Climate Resilient Rural WASH Services (CRWASH) approach and will engage in the following WASH and nutrition activities.

• Develop Social Behavioural Change (SBC) interventions for key target audiences based on results of a Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) study and formative research regarding key behaviours.

• Encourage informed decision-making processes in the multi-stakeholder design of plans to achieve positive change and develop resilient water and sanitation services.

• Harness private sector capacity and introduce concrete measures to strengthen supply chains, as well as professionalise services provisioning.

• Explore and develop diverse modalities of household financing so that different types of households can bring their own decisions and plans for water and sanitation to fruition.

• With local government, co-design systems that enable the continuity and resilience of positive behaviour change and investments in water and sanitation.

With a focus on health care facilities (HCF), the stepwise Clean Clinics Approach model will be applied to achieve HCF goals in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) and Infection Prevention and Control (IPC).

Objectives

1. Increase the number of under 15-year-olds with access to basic water and sanitation at home and in school.

2. Increase the number of under 15-year-olds growing up in open defecation-free communities.

3. Increase the number of under 15-year-olds living in households that practise key hygiene behaviours.

4. Increase the number of households with improved dietary diversity.

5. Increase the number of health care facilities with access to basic water, sanitation, and hygiene services.