ERNEST ADU YIRENKYI

Simulation 4: Position Paper for the Republic of Ghana

A key challenge of water provision and sanitation in cities in Africa is the failure of governments and
public utilities to deliver and maintain basic infrastructure services for their growing populations (UNDP,
2006). As an outcome, many urban households have access to potable water only two hours in every 48 to
72 hour, and water consumption in some areas barely reaches the internationally recognized minimum of
20-25 L per capita per day (UNDP, 2006). Only 30% of urban families have pipe connections into their
dwellings and 22% uses flush toilets while 5% uses the bush or beach (Ghana Statistical Service, 2008).
WaterAid (2014) reports that over 3.3 million Ghanaians have no access to good quality water, 86 percent
dont have access to improved sanitation and also over 3000 children under 5 years old die annually from
poor water and sanitation in Ghana.
Ghanaians usually rely on lakes, rivers and streams as well as pipe water. Most urban dwellers rely on
boreholes and tap water.
The 2013 Joint Monitoring Program(JMP) of the World Health Organization and UNICEF update report,
states that Ghana has achieved her water target with 86 per cent coverage using improved sources and that
only 14 percent will need to be provided with safe water by 2025( Asante (2014). Water resources in
Ghana are adequate. However, supply or distribution is not reliable in most communities. Infrastructural
constraints, unreliable electricity supply and other financial limitations are the principal factors the Ghana
Water Company Limited (GWCL) constantly cries of.
In the past years, elephantiasis and guinea worm were endemic diseases in Ghana due to the use of
polluted or contaminated water resources especially in rural communities. Through the commitments of
past and present governments, coupled with support from foreign donors, water processing and supply
infrastructure have been improved throughout the nation. Non-governmental organizations such as Water
Aid have complemented government efforts in this direction by drilling boreholes for rural communities
in Ghana. These measures have culminated in drastically reducing these waterborne diseases.
Access to quality water resources in Ghana have improved largely over the decades. Key successes have
been the elimination of guinea worm cases in the country over the last 15 years. In the past, most rural
dwellers relied on streams, rivers and lakes because those sources were the only choices they had.
Because water from these natural sources were in most cases polluted, the users eventually developed
abnormalities in health among which guinea worm was key. Previous governments have shown
commitment to provide safe, affordable and reliable water to the people of Ghana by investing in the
sector. Foreign aid in the form of grants, technical support and loans have complemented governments
efforts in this matter.

Part B;

Stormwater Management

Many communities are beginning to look at stormwater as a valuable resource that can be captured or
injected into the ground to restore depleted aquifers. Solutions range from retention ponds, to rain barrels
and cisterns, to a whole suite of strategies for infiltrating stormwater where it falls, rather than channeling
it away through piped systems. Fostering these approaches in your community can reduce the demands on
your drinking water system, extend the life of water supplies, and have numerous other environmental
benefits.
Desalinization: As source water becomes scarcer and treatment technology improves, desalination is
becoming a more attractive option for some water systems. Desalination is an approach to treat and use
seawater or brackish ground water (more common in the southwestern United States) to create a
freshwater supply. Note that brackish and saline water filtration and treatment may produce large amounts
of waste residuals that require proper disposal and should be considered when choosing desalination
technologies (United States Environmental Protection Agency (2015)).
Water Reuse: Many countries are now beginning to innovate systems of reusing wastewater. This is in
response to the emerging challenges that climate change poses to the future of water availability and
quality.
Nations are beginning to strategize measures to improve water sanitation and safety. Climate change is
posing security concerns in water supply. This measures include reducing the runoff of polluted water into
drinking water sources. For example, surface mining in Ghana using cyanide is causing massive pollution
of most water sources. Government has also setup eco-management organizations to ensure sanitation of
waterbodies in Ghana. Modern infrastructure is also being erected all across the country to provide safe
water to homes and industries.

PART C.
1. Encourage countries to educate their citizens on matters relating to scarcity of water and the dangers
that arise when there is shortage of water. We believe that it will help them to economize the use of water
consumption.
2. Urges countries to restrict their policies pertaining to water usage. Since water has been a problem for
many countries and the world at large, we will suggest that individual countries should implement and
restrict their policy to safeguard the use of water consumption and improve on water sanitation.
3. Call upon member countries to collaborate with NGOS to institute measures to solve water crises
globally by mobilizing funds to support the most affected countries to improve on their water system.

References

United States Environmental Protection Agency (2015). Water: climate change and water. Web

Asante, E. S (2014). Government pledges to invest US$170m in water, sanitation. Web. Accessed on 20th
March, 2015

Ghana Statistical Service (2008). Ghana Living Standards Survey: Report of the Fifth Round (GLSS 5),
Ghana Statistical Service, Accra.

United Nations Development Program (UNDP) (2006). Human Development Report 2006; Beyond
Scarcity: poverty and the global water and sanitation crisis, UNDP, New York
WaterAid (2014). Where we work; Ghana. Web. Accessed on 25th March, 2015