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05/06/2019

Certified true: #NandomIsODF!

Hut in Piiri

And it’s official! Our SNV office in Ghana received the good news that Nandom District is now formally recognised as the country’s first open defecation free district.

To mark this milestone—a first in the recent history of Ghana—on Friday 7 June, Nandom is convening the District’s 88 communities, traditional authorities, regional and national government dignitaries, as well as WASH stakeholders to celebrate the end of open defecation practice in Nandom, and the people who have made this possible.

The event, hosted by the Nandom District Assembly, will be opened by Chief Executive, Hon Aasoglegnang Thaddeus Arkum. Other high profile personalities include Hon Cecilia Abena Dappah, Minister, Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources; Hon Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, Regional Minister, Upper West Region; Dr Ernest Kunfaa, President, Nandom Traditional Council; Municipal and District Chief Executives of other assemblies, and development organisations, including SNV.

The event is supported by Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene for All Results Programme, an SNV multi-country programme, with funding from UKAID.

Why the massive celebration?

Within a short span of four years (2015-2018), political leadership, concerted multi-stakeholder actions, and an effective (and tailored) rural sanitation approach have successfully made sanitation facilities available for each of the 63,813 residents of Nandom District.

The event does not only honour the success of Nandom, and the people behind it. It also:

  • shares Nandom’s success to nearby districts and the rest of the country, serving as a role model to follow in the pursuit for better sanitation and hygiene conditions;

  • emphasises that the local know-how and strategies to realise an open defecation free Ghana is there (e.g., Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene for All, SSH4A rural sanitation approach); and

  • serves as an occasion for the District to make a pledge for higher sanitation levels… pushing forward for action to realise a Nandom that is not simply open defecation free. But a Nandom District that is also home to safely managed sanitation services.

Woman opening door to hut

Not in Ghana, but interested to learn more?

Throughout the month of June 2019, we are publishing short stories on Nandom, featuring the voices and perspectives of the very people who were central in ending open defecation practice in the District. Make sure to follow us on Twitter @SNV_WASH or sign up with SNV’s newsletter.

For a more in-depth perspective on how Nandom expanded toilet coverage from 47% in 2015 to 100% in 2019, contact Theresa Swanzy, WASH advisor at Tswanzybaffoe@snv.org

To learn more about our rural sanitation approach, Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene for All, view selected publications, or visit the SSH4A approach page.

Banner photo: Latrine built by a female resident at Pirii, Nandom, in the Upper West Region of Ghana (SNV/Geoffrey Buta)