Sanitation Problems in Ghana
Ghana’s sanitation problem has been a serious topic that has been discussed all over the world in many years but it seems there has been no improvement at all. The indiscrimination way of waste disposal in Ghanaian society is really affecting the development of the country. This has become normal thing for most Ghanaians; they throw trash anywhere without a second thought at all. This has resulted in deadly sicknesses like malaria, cholera, diarrhea and many more sanitation related problems. I am always wondering when and how Ghana will be like Europe and US in terms of sanitation. This issue has become the behavior of most Ghanaians and some aspect of our cultural and superstitious believes has major influence on this problem. And it takes so many years to deal with behavioral change.
I don’t want to talk negatively about somebody’s culture, but I have typically witnessed a culture that thinks it is not appropriate to build a toilet facility in the community. This is because it is very wrong for one to shit on somebody’s shit and this has resulted in mass open defecation in that community. This is very common in some rural areas in some regions of Ghana, a whole community and there is not even one toilet facility in it due to cultural and economic reasons. Mostly it is very easy to deal with the economic aspect of it, but very difficult when one uses culture as a reason for an issue like this. I remember arguing with a man in a very long distance journey. I was sitting by the window and he finished a can drink and wanted me to throw the trash away from the window for him. I was like please you can put it in the bus I know the driver and his mate will get rid of it later or in his bag and put it in a trash can when he gets home. It was as if I had ask of his kidney, he got really mad at me which attracted the attention of the other passengers and nobody seem to be on my side saying no body sweeps that area and there are bushes around so I should have threw it away for him.
Fellow Ghanaians let us stop the way we throw trash anywhere because we are the same people who will suffer for it consequences. One will wait for rains and just drop trash in the drains thinking the drain is taking it way without thinking of where it will leave it. Being in front of somebody’s shop, home, an office wherever. Let us try to be conscious about the way we dispose our trash and we will live healthy and a trouble free life. Ghana is almost a Christian country we go to church all the time but it seems we don’t practice what the scripture says, “cleanliness is next to Godliness.” It seems everyone wants to be Godly but have ignore the cleanliness aspect.
It’s high time Ghanaians have to realize themselves as far as proper sanitation is concerned. The present government has promised making Ghana the cleanest country in Africa, but I still wonder how soon this is going to happen. But I also believe determination with hard work leads to success. Therefore, fellow Ghanaians, let us come together and fight poor sanitation as the worst challenge which is retrogressing our development.
Sources:
https://www.modernghana.com/news/759045/poor-sanitation-a-menace-in-ghaha-today.html
http://ghanarising.blogspot.com/2012/11/ghanas-political-poop.html
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