The government of Ghana has revealed that the provision of free water as part of efforts to cushion Ghanaians from difficulties of Coronavirus Pandemic and encourage personal hygiene cost the country GHS834 million.
The government announced three-month free water for Ghanaians during the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic which was extended till the end of this year.
Speaking at the 2020 Global Hand washing Day Commemoration in Accra, Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, explained that “the free water policy was costing the country close to GHS 834 million at the end of the nine months, ending December 2020. The high cost of the Free Water Policy cannot be equated to the number of lives saved through effective and proper hand washing with soap under running water during the COVID-19.”
She said the “singular most important social intervention is to make potable water easily accessible and at no cost to all, to allow for effective and proper hand washing with soap under running water,” she added.
Ms. Dapaah also listed additional interventions made by the Ministry together with its partners to promote hand washing among Ghanaians.
“We distributed over 1,500 units of hand washing facilities and accompanying logistics to critical and vulnerable groups of society namely, health facilities, mental homes, foster homes, lorry parks, basic and secondary schools, to support effective hand washing.”
She said the Ministry continues to distribute hand washing facilities to schools to enhance personal hygiene.
“Today we are pleased to hand-over additional Veronica Buckets and other hygiene supplies to the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service for onward distribution to schools in the Greater Accra Region. We would also like to take this opportunity to invite all stakeholders to invest in water, sanitation, and hygiene, as this is critical for Ghana to fight COVID-19 and make more progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.”
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Obed Ansah
