Water supply and sanitation in Ghana
Encyclopedia
| Ghana Ghana Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south... : Water and Sanitation |
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!align="center" bgcolor="lightblue" colspan="3"|Data
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!align="left" valign="top"|Water coverage (broad definition)
|valign="top"| 75%
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!align="left" valign="top"|Sanitation coverage (broad definition)
|valign="top"| 18%
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!align="left" valign="top"|Continuity of supply (%)
|valign="top"| 25% in Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
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!align="left" valign="top"|Average urban water use (l/c/d)
|valign="top"| n/a
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!align="left" valign="top"|Average urban water tariff (US$/m³)
|valign="top"| US$0.66 (2006)
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!align="left" valign="top"|Share of household metering
|valign="top"| n/a
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!align="left" valign="top"|Share of collected wastewater treated
|valign="top"| about 10% in Accra
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!align="left" valign="top"|Annual investment in WSS
|valign="top"| US$ 0.7 per capita
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!align="left" valign="top"|Share of self-financing by utilities
|valign="top"| Very low
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!align="left" valign="top"|Share of tax-financing
|valign="top"| Very low
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!align="left" valign="top"|Share of external financing
|valign="top"| about 90%
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!align="center" bgcolor="lightblue" colspan="3"|Institutions
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!align="left" valign="top"|Decentralization to municipalities
|valign="top"| In rural areas: Decentralization to districts, since 1994
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!align="left" valign="top"|National water and sanitation company
|valign="top"| Yes: Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL)
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!align="left" valign="top"|Water and sanitation regulator
|valign="top"| In urban areas: Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC)
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!align="left" valign="top"|Responsibility for policy setting
|valign="top"| Water Directorate within the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing
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!align="left" valign="top"|Sector law
|valign="top"| various
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!align="left" valign="top"|Number of urban service providers
|valign="top"| 1: GWCL
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!align="left" valign="top"|Number of rural service providers
|valign="top"| more than 400 community-managed piped systems
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The water supply and sanitation sector in Ghana faces severe problems, partly due to a neglect of the sector until the 1990s. Tariffs were kept at a low level which was far from reflecting the real cost of the service. Economic efficiency still remains below the regional average, resulting in a lack of financial resources to maintain and extend the infrastructure. Since 1994, the sector has been gradually modernized through the creation of an autonomous regulatory agency, introduction of private sector participation, and decentralization of the rural supply to 138 districts
Districts of Ghana
||The Districts of Ghana are second-level administrative subdivisions of Ghana, below the level of region.The districts of Ghana were re-organized in 1988/1989 in an attempt to decentralize the government and to combat the rampant corruption amongst officials...
, where user participation is encouraged. The reforms aim at increasing cost recovery and a modernization of the urban utility Ghana Water Company Ltd. (GWCL), as well as of rural water supply systems.
Another problem which partly arose from the recent reforms is the existence of a multitude of institutions with overlapping responsibilities. The National Water Policy (NWP), launched at the beginning of 2008, seeks to introduce a comprehensive sector policy.
Access
The water supply and sanitation infrastructure is insufficient, especially in rural areas and concerning sanitation. There are substantial discrepancies between access data from various sources, partially because of different definitions being used by different institutions that are providing access data. According to the Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation of UNICEF and WHOWho
Who may refer to:* Who , an English-language pronoun* who , a Unix command* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism- Art and entertainment :* Who? , a 1958 novel by Algis Budrys...
access is as follows:
| Urban(46% of the population) | Rural(54% of the population) | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | Broad definition Improved water source According to the Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation by the World Health Organization and UNICEF the following are considered as "improved" water sources:* household connections* public standpipes* boreholes* protected dug wells... |
88% | 64% | 75% |
| House connections | 37% | 4% | 19% | |
| Sanitation | Broad definition Improved sanitation According to the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation by the World Health Organization and UNICEF the following are considered as "improved" sanitation:* connection to a public sewer* connection to a septic system* pour-flush latrine... |
27% | 11% | 18% |
| Sewerage | 13% | 2% | 7% | |
However, according to the multi-donor Africa MDG assessment access to an improved water sources is much lower (56%) and access to improved sanitation is higher (35%).
The share of non-functional supply systems in Ghana is estimated at almost one third, with many others operating substantially below designed capacity. Moreover, domestic water supply competes with a rising demand for water by the expanding industry and agriculture sectors.
Ghana aims at achieving 85% coverage for water supply and sanitation by 2015, which would exceed the Millennium Development Goals
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
' target of 78%.
Continuity of supply
According to one estimate, only one quarter of the residents in AccraAccra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
receive a continuous water supply, whereas approximately 30% are provided for 12 hours each day, five days a week. Another 35% are supplied for two days each week. The remaining 10% who mainly live on the outskirts of the capital are completely without access to piped water.
According to the water company Aqua Vitens Rand Ltd. (AVRL), a joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
of the Dutch Vitens Rand water services BV and Aqua Vitra Ltd., residing in Accra, the situation is even worse: In February 2008 some communities within the Accra-Tema metropolis were served either once in a week, once in a fortnight or once in a month.
Drinking water quality
The lack of clean drinking water and sanitation systems is a severe public health concern in Ghana, contributing to 70% of diseases in the country. Consequently, households without access to clean water are forced to use less reliable and hygienic sources, and often pay more.Wastewater treatment
It is estimated that in 2000 the urban areas of Ghana generated about 763,698 m³ of wastewater each day, resulting in approximately 280 million m³ over the entire year. Regional capitals count for another 180 million m³. Only a small share of the generated urban wastewater is collected, and an even smaller share is being treated. In Accra, the share of wastewater collected is approximately 10%. Moreover, less than 25% of the 46 industrial and municipal treatment plants in Ghana were functional according to an inventory undertaken by the Ghana Environmental Protection Agency in 2001. Treatment plants for municipal wastewater are operated by local governments, and most of them are stabilization ponds. A biological treatment plant has been built in the late 1990s at Accra's Korle Lagoon. However, it only handles about 8% of Accra's wastewater.Water resources
Volta River
The Volta is a river in western Africa that drains into the Gulf of Guinea. It has three main tributaries—the Black Volta, White Volta and Red Volta...
system basin, consisting of the Oti
Oti River
The Oti River is a river in West Africa that rises in Burkina Faso. It forms part of the international boundaries between Benin and Burkina Faso and between Togo and Ghana. It empties into Lake Volta....
, Daka, Pru, Sene and Afram
Afram River
The Afram River is a 100 km river in Ghana. Prior to the construction of the Akosombo Dam in the 1960s, the Afram is a principal tributary of the Volta River and today is an equally important tributary of Lake Volta. The river runs roughly in a southwesterly direction. It collects all the...
rivers as well as the white
White Volta
The White Volta, also known as the Nakambe River, is the headstream of the Volta River in West Africa. It originates in Burkina Faso and it flows into Lake Volta in Ghana. Its main tributaries are the Black Volta and the Red Volta....
and black volta
Black Volta
Black Volta or Mouhoun is a river of western Africa rising in western Burkina Faso and flowing about 1,352 km to the White Volta in Ghana. The Black Volta forms a small part of the boundary between Ghana and Ivory Coast, and also a section of border between Ghana and Burkina Faso.-See also:*Deux...
rivers, covers 70% of the country area. Another 22% of Ghana is covered by the southwestern river system watershed comprising the Bia
Bia River
The Bia is a river in West Africa that flows through Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. A hydroelectric dam was built at Ayame in 1959, causing the formation of Lake Ayame ....
, Tano
Tano River
The Tano or Tanoé River is a river in Ghana. It flows for 400 kilometres from Techiman to Ehy, Tendo and finally Aby Lagoon where it enters the Atlantic Ocean...
, Ankobra
Ankobra River
The Ankobra River is situated in Western Africa. Rising north east of Wiawso, it flows about 120 miles south to the Gulf of Guinea. Its entire course is in southern Ghana...
and Pra
Pra River (Ghana)
The Pra River is a river in Ghana, the easternmost and the largest of the three principal rivers that drain the area south of the Volta divide. Rising in the Kwahu Plateau near Mpraeso and flowing southward for 240 km through rich cocoa and farming areas and valuable forests in the Akan...
rivers. The coastal river system watershed, comprising the Ochi-Nawuka, Ochi Amissah, Ayensu, Densu
Densu River
The Densu River is a 116km long river in Ghana rising in the Atewa Range. It flows through an economically important agricultural region, supplies half the drinking water to Ghana's capital city of Accra, and ends in an ecologically significant but environmentally threatened wetlands at the edge...
and Tordzie rivers, covers the remaining 8% of the country.
Furthermore, groundwater is available in mesozoic
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic era is an interval of geological time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the age of reptiles because reptiles, namely dinosaurs, were the dominant terrestrial and marine vertebrates of the time...
and cenozoic
Cenozoic
The Cenozoic era is the current and most recent of the three Phanerozoic geological eras and covers the period from 65.5 mya to the present. The era began in the wake of the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous that saw the demise of the last non-avian dinosaurs and...
sedimentary rocks and in sedimentary formations underlying the Volta basin. The Volta Lake, with a surface of 8,500 km², is one of the world's largest artificial lakes. In all, the total actual renewable water resources are estimated to be 53.2 billion m³ per year.
Water use
In 2000, total water withdrawal was 982 million m³, of which two thirds were used for agricultural purposes. Another 10% was withdrawn for industry, leaving 24% or 235 million m³ for domestic use. Furthermore, 37,843 km³ are used for hydroelectricity generation at the Akosombo DamAkosombo Dam
The Akosombo Dam , is a hydroelectric dam on the Volta River in southeastern Ghana in the Akosombo gorge and part of the Volta River Authority. The construction of the dam flooded part of the Volta River Basin, and the subsequent creation of Lake Volta...
each year.
History
In 1928, the first piped water supply system was constructed at Cape CoastCape Coast
Cape Coast, or Cabo Corso, is the capital of the Central Region of Ghana and is also the capital city of the Fante people, or Mfantsefo. It is situated 165 km west of Accra on the Gulf of Guinea. It has a population of 82,291 . From the 16th century the city has changed hands between the...
. The Water Supply Division of the Public Works Department was responsible for the service provision in rural and urban areas of Ghana. After Ghana's independence in 1957, the division was separated from the Public Works Department and placed under the Ministry of Works and Housing. In 1965, it was transformed into the Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation (GWSC), a legal public utility responsible for the provision of urban and rural water supply for public, domestic, and industrial purposes as well as the establishment, operation, and control of sewerage systems.
Since 1993, various reforms have been introduced to address the problems of the sector. The key objectives of the reforms were to separate rural and urban service, to introduce independent regulatory agencies, and to promote private sector participation.
In order to pay more attention to water supply and sanitation in rural areas, the Community Water and Sanitation Division was founded as a semi-autonomous division of GWSC in 1994. Four years later, it changed its name to the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) and became fully independent. In 1999, the GWSC was replaced by the publicly owned GWCL. At the same time, the responsibility for rural water supply and sanitation was decentralized to the District Assemblies. In addition, sanitation was separated from water supply and became a responsibility of the District Assemblies in urban and rural areas.
As a result, the GWCL remained responsible only for urban water supply, whereas more than 110 small towns' water systems were transferred to District Assemblies, which receive support from the CWSA. In terms of sanitation, District Assemblies are responsible in urban and rural areas. In the latter case, a demand-driven and community-managed approach was introduced.
The regulation of water supply has been shifted from the government to independent agencies. Two commissions were created in 1997 to regulate the sector: The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has been developed to formulate and approve appropriate pricing mechanisms aimed at full cost recovery, since the government began to phase out the subsidization of water services in 2003. The PURC has no authority over community-managed water systems and only regulates GWCL services. Besides the provision of tariff guidelines and the examination and approval of tariffs, it protects the interests of consumers and providers, promotes fair competition, and initiates, conducts, and monitors standards concerning the provided service.
Whereas the PURC takes responsibility for economic regulation of urban water supply and sanitation, the Water Resources Commission (WRC) regulates water resources: it is in charge of licensing water abstraction and wastewater discharges.
21st century
To carry out the private sector participation of GWCL, originally a 10-year lease contract was envisaged . In 2000, a lease contract between GWCL and the US company AzurixAzurix
Azurix Corp. is a water services company, headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company owned and operated facilities in North America , Europe, and South America...
failed due to public opposition and accusations of corruption which led to the formation of the Coalition against Water Privatization.
In October 2006, under the framework of the Urban Water Project (see below) a five-year management contract
Management contract
A management contract is an arrangement under which operational control of an enterprise is vested by contract in a separate enterprise which performs the necessary managerial functions in return for a fee. Management contracts involve not just selling a method of doing things but involves...
was signed between the GWCL and AVRL. The main objectives of this private sector participation are:
- Extending reliable water supply especially to low-income areas
- Making potable water affordable for low-income consumers
- Increasing cost recovery
- Ensuring investments based on low-cost and concession financing
- Supporting further involvement of the private sector
- Reducing non-revenue waterNon-revenue waterNon revenue water is water that has been produced and is “lost” before it reaches the customer. Losses can be real losses or apparent losses . High levels of NRW are detrimental to the financial viability of water utilities, as well to the quality of water itself...
- Increasing water treatmentWater treatmentWater treatment describes those processes used to make water more acceptable for a desired end-use. These can include use as drinking water, industrial processes, medical and many other uses. The goal of all water treatment process is to remove existing contaminants in the water, or reduce the...
The project is financed by the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
, the Nordic Development Fund
Nordic Development Fund
The Nordic Development Fund is the joint multilateral development finance institution of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. It was established in 1989 and adheres to the development assistance policies of the Nordic countries and has financed 190 development assistance credits valued at...
and the Republic of Ghana (see below).
In March 2008, severe water shortages in Accra were reported, leading Boniface Abubakar Saddique, the Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, to review whether AVRL is working in compliance with the management contract. However, he explained that the reason for the shortages was unforeseen power outages at two water treatment plants in Weija and Kpong. Saddique stated that the overall situation will improve notably by the end of 2008 due to several new boreholes and a more stable power supply.
National Water Policy
To overcome the lack of coordination between the numerous institutions which were created since 1993, Saddique launched a National Water Policy (NWP) at the end of February 2008, which focuses on the three strategic areas: (i) water resourcesWater resources
Water resources are sources of water that are useful or potentially useful. Uses of water include agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and environmental activities. Virtually all of these human uses require fresh water....
management; (ii) urban water supply; and (iii) community water and sanitation.
Although the sector has made substantial progress, a lack of coherence in policy formulation resulted in a multitude of implementation strategies which led to new problems. The NWP thus aims to formulate a comprehensive sector policy which includes all relevant actors in the sector. According to the minister, the NWP could make it easier for development partners to provide the necessary support to the sector.
The NWP has been prepared by the Ghanaian Water Resources Commission (WRC) since 2002 and is based on the Ghanaian Constitution of 1992, the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS), international agreements and conventions, and other national programs.
Responsibility for water supply and sanitation
Policy and regulation
At the moment, a number of institutions exist to supervise and regulate water supply and sanitation. The entire policy framework is based on the Ghana Poverty Reduction Stategy (GPRS), the Millennium Development GoalsMillennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
targets, and the Government's coordination with donor assistance.
General water sector policies for both rural and urban areas are set by the Water Directorate within the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing (MWRWH). Furthermore, the ministry solicits funding from external support agencies, monitors the sector, and advises the Cabinet. The Water Sector Restructuring Secretariat, created in 1997 in the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, oversees the process of private sector participation in the sector.
The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development shares responsibility for setting sanitation policies and coordinating funding for the subsector with MWRWH. The government promotes decentralization so that sanitation policies are expected to be carried out by Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies. To enforce environmental quality laws, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Ministry of Environment and Science is expected to examine the impact of sanitation development activities on the environment.
Urban areas
The Ghana Water Company Ltd. (GWCL) is responsible for providing, distributing, and conserving water for domestic, public, and industrial purposes in 82 urban systems in localities with more than 5,000 inhabitants. Moreover, the company is mandated to establish, operate, and control sewerage systems in Ghana.Local private companies are in charge of meter
Water meter
A water meter is a device used to measure the volume of water usage. This article provides an overview of technical aspects of water meters. The worldwide prevalence of metering as well as its economic benefits and costs are covered in the separate article on water metering.In many developed...
installation, customer billing, and revenue collection. In the framework of the urban water project, since October 2006 the private operator AVRL supports GWCL under a five-year management contract to improve its performance and rehabilitate and extend the infrastructure.
Urban sanitation is a responsibility of local governments.
Rural areas
The CWSA was created in 1994 under the framework of the Ghana decentralization policy and became autonomous in 1998. The institution does not directly construct, operate, and maintain utilities for water supply and sanitation. Instead, its role is to coordinate the work of a number of actors which carry out the services in rural areas, including public sector organizations, local beneficiary communities, private sector organizations, and NGOs. The CWSA is also expected to ensure that financial support from development partners is effectively used and to provide rural areas and small towns with hygiene education. To carry out its tasks, the agency operates ten regional offices besides its head office in Accra.
In communities with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants, water supply systems are owned and managed by the respective community on a demand-driven basis. According to the NCWSP, these systems do not receive any cross-subsidies and 5% of the cost of providing the facility is paid by the operating community. Therefore, the rural communities and small towns form gender-balanced voluntary groups which are represented by elected water and sanitation boards, including one or two village-based caretakers who received special training in repair and maintenance. Communities and the CWSA are enabled to contract external actors, such as private sector consultants or NGOs, to provide technical assistance, goods, or services. Local companies are regularly encouraged in the provision of boreholes and hand-dug wells, and local artisans are used to provide household latrines. Although the communities' water and sanitation boards are expected to independently operate and maintain their water supply systems, they do receive technical assistance by District Water and Sanitation Teams (DWST) at the district level, consisting of an engineer, a hygiene expert, and a community mobilizer.
Other stakeholders
The Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), created in 2001, "works in partnership with sector players to influence policies, remove barriers and promote access to potable water, sanitation and improved hygiene for the poor and vulnerable." According to the coalition, giving NGOs one voice for advocacy and lobbying has been one of its major benefits.Non-revenue water
According to the Water Sector Restructuring Secretariat non-revenue waterNon-revenue water
Non revenue water is water that has been produced and is “lost” before it reaches the customer. Losses can be real losses or apparent losses . High levels of NRW are detrimental to the financial viability of water utilities, as well to the quality of water itself...
in urban areas stands at approximately 50% of the produced water, i.e. it is lost, among other things, due to leakage and illegal connections. According to a Ghanaian radio station, a survey showed that 3,000 out of 15,000 connections were illegal while 20 minor leaks were found. Furthermore, most of those connected to water supply do not pay their bills. At least at the end of the 1990s, the Ghanaian government participated in that poor payment culture.
As part of the efforts to reduce system losses, in February 2008 the Accra East Region of AVRL-GWCL has caused the arrest of ten illegal connection syndicates in the Adenta community. They had constructed huge underground reservoirs which served as a source of water for private water tanker operators. The tanker operators buy water from these illegal sources and sell it to private individuals at Ashaley Botwe at high prices.
Labor productivity
It is estimated that in 2006, approximately 60 employees were responsible for 1,000 connections. This figure is extremely high compared both to international and regional levels. International good practice is less than 4 employees per 1,000 connections.Tariffs and cost recovery
Water tariffs in Ghana are too low to recover the costs of the service. Water tariffs in rural areas tend to be higher than in urban areas.Urban areas. Between 1990 and 1997, the average water tariff in Ghana's urban areas was in the range of US$0.10 to US$0.15 per m³. At that time, the Government was not willing to approve major tariff increases. However, the situation changed with the creation of the regulatory agency PURC which autonomously examines and approves public service tariffs, resulting in an average water tariff of about US$0.50 in 2004. In 2006, GWCL's tariff for the first 20m³ consumed was US$0.55 per m³, whereas US$0.76 were charged for each m³ exceeding 20m³ within a month.
Rural areas. According to the CWSA's policy, the water tariff in rural areas should recover the supply cost of the service, including operation, maintenance, major repairs, replacements, and extension to new areas. Tariffs are set by the District Assemblies in rural areas. However, the supply cost should be low enough to not result in a tariff of more than US$1 per m³. A study conducted in five community-managed piped systems in the
Ashanti region
Ashanti Region
The Ashanti Region is the third largest of 10 administrative regions in Ghana, occupying a total land surface of 24389 square kilometers or 10.2 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. In terms of population, however, it is the most populated region with a population of 3,612,950 in 2000,...
found an average tariff of about US$0.60 per m³ in 2003, which actually covers between 57 and 77% of the full supply cost. Another study which was carried out in 2005 indicates an average monthly expenditure for water of US$0.99 in 97 sample villages in the Volta region
Volta Region
Volta Region is one of Ghana's ten administrative regions. It is to the east of Lake Volta. Its capital is Ho.-List of districts:The region has 18 districts consisting of 3 municipal and 15 ordinary districts:-Background:...
and US$0.89 in 103 villages in the Brong Ahafo region per household. However, in nearly 70% of the villages in Volta and only 40% of the villages in Brong Ahafo, at least 90% of the interviewed households actually paid for water. Where water use is charged, it is done through a fixed system or a pay-as-you-fetch system.
Investment and financing
Since economic efficiency as well as cost recovery in the sector are extremely low, financing water and sanitation investments in Ghana relies heavily on external funding. According to one estimate 90% of the total investment in the sector in the 1990s was made by external agencies, which contributed about US$500 million for the sector between 1990 and 2003. It is worth mentioning that sanitation generally receives much less attention. According to another estimate, more than 96% of expected financing in 2006 will be from external donors.Despite the strong engagement of international donors, funding remains insufficient to achieve the Millennium Development Goals for water and sanitation, aiming at halving the share of the population without access to these services by 2015 compared to 1990. According to one estimate, the expansion and rehabilitation of urban infrastructure requires investments of US$1.3 billion over an unspecified period. Annual investment needs in water supply and sanitation are estimated by another source at US$ 150 million. Expected investment funding for 2006 was US$ 85 million, or 57% of the needs.
Actual annual investments in urban areas have been estimated by the Water Sector Restructuring Secretariat at around US$40 million per year, having "recently" declined to only US$17 million per year (without specifying which year). The US$ 40m figure for urban areas corresponds to about US$4 per capita, an average level compared to other low-income countries.
African Development Bank (ADB)
The African Development Bank (ADB)African Development Bank
The African Development Bank Group is a development bank established in 1964 with the intention of promoting economic and social development in Africa...
contributes to the Accra Sewerage Improvement Project (ASIP) with a loan of US$69 million, while the Government of Ghana provides US$8.6 million. The project was approved by the ADB in 2006 and is expected to be implemented within five years. In this time, two treatment plants and eight pumping stations are expected to be built. Moreover, sewerage networks and sanitation facilities will be extended and rehabilitated. The project also supports environmental measures, institutional strengthening, engineering services, and project management.
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)Canadian International Development Agency
The Canadian International Development Agency was formed in 1968 by the Canadian government. CIDA administers foreign aid programs in developing countries, and operates in partnership with other Canadian organizations in the public and private sectors as well as other international organizations...
supports the water supply and sanitation sector in Ghana's northern regions through three projects:
- CIDA contributes US$11 million to the gender-balanced District Capacity Building Project (DISCAP), which aims at strengthening local capacities to manage water and sanitation resources, thus enabling local government bodies to provide water supply and sanitation services. DISCAP began in 2000 and will end in 2008.
- The agency provides US$16.4 million for the Northern Region Water Sanitation Project (NORWASP), which began in 1999 and is expected to end in 2009. The main objective of the gender-balanced project is to increase access to water and sanitation through a demand-driven approach. At the end of the project, up to 250,000 communities in the eastern corridor section of the northern region are expected to have access to safe drinking water, including 420 which independently manage their new water systems.
- The Northern Region Small Towns (NORST) project, which is being implemented from 2004 to 2014, is supported by CIDA with US$30 million. The project is expected to establish water supply and sanitation services in up to 30 small towns.
Community Water and Sanitation Program (CWSP)
The Second Community Water and Sanitation Program was initiated in 2000 with support of a World Bank IDAInternational Development Association
The International Development Association , is the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries. It complements the World Bank's other lending arm — the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development — which serves middle-income countries with capital investment and...
credit of US$21.9 million, aiming at increasing access and supporting effective and sustained use of improved community water supply and sanitation services in villages and small towns through a demand-driven approach. It built on lessons learned from the first Community Water and Sanitation Program which had been carried out from 1994 to 2000. A large-scale decentralization approach in the planning, implementation, and management of water supply and sanitation in Ghana was one of the main characteristics of the second program. Moreover, the communities were given technical assistance and hygiene education. Gender-balanced water and sanitation committees were set up to actively engage and include NGOs, private sector actors, and District Assemblies. As a result of the program, which ended in 2004, nearly 800,000 people were provided with potable water and almost 6,000 households and 440 schools were provided with latrines.
Small Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Project
The Small Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Project was approved by the World Bank in 2004 with a loan of US$26 million. In 2007 the World Bank decided to support the project with an additional credit of US$10 million. The German development agency GTZDeutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit or GIZ is an international enterprise founded in 1975 by Erhard Eppler and owned by the German Federal Government, operating in many fields across more than 130 countries. It primarily works for public-sector organizations and is...
contributes to the project with US$400,000, while the Government of Ghana provides US$4.6 million.
The project will end in 2009 and aims at increasing water supply and sanitation access to small towns in six Ghanaian regions, providing about 500,000 people with water supply facilities and about 50,000 people with sanitary facilities. Therefore, the project supports the planning, construction, and rehabilitation of water and sanitation systems in small towns and provides hygiene promotion, training, and technical assistance. In addition, the CWSA is supported by a management fee equal to 5% of the funds disbursed to support the incremental costs of the project.
Urban Water Project
In 2004, the World Bank's Board approved a credit of US$103 million for the Urban Water Project, which was later turned into a grant. The Nordic Development Fund contributes another US$5 million, while the Government of Ghana provides the remaining US$12 million of the US$120 million project.The main objectives of the program, which will end in 2010, are to (i) significantly increase access to water supply systems in the urban areas of Ghana with an emphasis on improving the service for the urban poor; and (ii) restoring the long-term financial stability, viability, and sustainability of the GWCL. It provides technical assistance and training. Moreover, the Urban Water Project supports private sector participation and thus contributed to the management contract between GWCL and AVRL.