By Samuel SAM
The Sagnarigu Municipal Assembly in the Northern Region has taken a significant step toward improving the lives of its citizens by inaugurating Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Investment Plan (WIP) to address challenges in the municipality.
The five-year development plan, spanning 2025 to 2030, is being implemented in partnership with policymakers and the private sector to provide sustainable WASH services. The initiative seeks to address longstanding challenges in the municipality that have hindered economic growth.
With the support of World Vision in providing financial and technical support to develop WIP, the Assembly also commended the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Global Communities, Afram Plains Development Organisation and other partners for their assistance.
WIP is a comprehensive and coherent programme to complement the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 that aims for peaceful and inclusive societies. It is also aligned to SGD 6, which envision universal access to WASH by 2030.
This initiative is based on a thorough analysis of the WASH situation in the municipality and a review of existing documents, including the City-wide Inclusive Sanitation Plan (2021-2024). The analysis identified critical service as well as institutional and capacity gaps that must be addressed.
The inauguration event brought together stakeholders from the health sector, sanitation officers, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and staff of the assembly.
Some stakeholders commended the assembly for the initiative. Some also urged the assembly to target the youth in its awareness creation to help curb indiscipline.
Regional Environmental Health Officer, Sulemana Yakubu, commended the assembly for the initiative, noting access to quality healthcare and water coupled with poor sanitation have been compelling the assemblies to channel a chunk of their revenue to address such issues.
He, therefore, appealed to NGOs and other partners to assist the assembly to implement the project to bring about development.
The Municipal Coordinating Director, Mahmud M. Osman, for his part, said the plan is to mobilise the needed financial and technical resources to implement the projects.
The assembly, he added, is committed to improving the WASH situation and would continue to provide ownership, leadership and responsibility for WASH development in the municipality.
To ensure effective and efficient delivery, he said the assembly would create the necessary enabling environment to support and protect investments in the WASH sector.
“We do recognised that we cannot do it alone and therefore, seek the support of communities, development partners, the private sector, NGOs and other stakeholders to roll out the proposed interventions,” he said.
The Municipal Environmental Health Officer, Jacob Tetteh Amanor, noted that the development of the plan was due to rigorous survey by the assembly.
“We are looking forward to achieving 100 percent coverage of WASH in the municipality by 2030,” he concluded.
