Poor Sanitation In Ghana

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

The rapid population growth, economic development and rural urban migration in developing countries such as Ghana, has brought to bare several challenges which include poor sanitation. Many towns and cities in Ghana today have noticeable evidence of poor sanitation including improper disposal of garbage in the form of sachet water bags and other polythene products in homes, market centers, on the streets and many more public places. These materials are also seen along beaches, gutters among others; filling and blocking drains. There are containers provided at certain places designated for disposing refuse, but these seem inadequate hence they are almost always full and are not emptied. Statistics

This suggests that, improved sanitation has significant impacts not only on health, but also on social and economic development, particularly in developing countries (Mara, Lane, Scott, & Trouba, 2010).

To be able to curb the problem of poor sanitation in Ghana, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) is mandated to oversee the sanitation sector. It is responsible for creating and coordinating sanitation policy, issuing guidelines on sanitation services and their management, and see to the implementation of the Environmental Sanitation Policy (MLGRD, 2010).

In view of this, sanitation work has become very important in Ghana, both at the public and private sector levels. Sanitation work covers collection and sanitary disposal of wastes, including solid wastes, liquid wastes, excreta, industrial wastes, health-care and other hazardous wastes; storm water drainage, cleansing of thoroughfares, markets and other public and private spaces (MLGRD, 2010). This work is carried out directly by local government authorities or by private sanitation service providers, or as collaboration between the

In developing countries today where work is becoming increasingly mechanized, a number of work processes have been developed that treat workers as tools in production, putting their health and lives at risk” (WHO, 2001:14).

Tulley (2016), mentioned that, waste collection workers are two times more likely to suffer work related injuries than the average service sector worker. This means sanitation work involves lots of hazardous activities which can be health threatening and therefore employers must ensure that workers in both the informal and formal sector have adequate health and safety education and are able to actively use this information to better their health and safety practices (Puplampu and Quartey,