WaterAid Ghana, a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) focused organisation, says improved WASH services will build the resilience of vulnerable communities to the worse effects of climate change. Climate change is exacerbating the water crisis for the billions of people around the world who already lack reliable access to safe and sustainable water and sanitation services. It is worsening the situation of some 771 million people who live without clean water close to home and two billion others who do not have decent toilet of their own. The launch of a nation-focused campaign dubbed: 'Climate Change, Water and Me,' WaterAid Ghana reiterated that people were water secure when they had access to well-managed water supplies and services. The 'Climate Change, Water and Me' campaign, which is an adaptation of WaterAid Global Water and Climate Campaign, seeks to raise awareness on the impact of climate change on access to WASH and advocate for policy changes. Having a reliable source of clean water during drought and a toilet and sanitation system that can withstand flooding and a handwashing station to protect against illness, reduces the overall disease and livelihood risks faced particularly by poor and marginalised communities. Mr George Yorke, the Head of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns of WaterAid Ghana, giving an overview of the campaign, said, WASH services are a fundamental component of any strong climate adaptation plans. He said illegal mining, weak governance, a lack of political drive to provide services for all, inadequate finance and environmental damage formed part of the many reasons why people were unable to access the water services they needed. 'In Ghana, illegal mining also posed a serious threat to access to safe water…Climate change is another of these threats and is attracting increasing global attention,' he said. Mr Yorke said the effects of climate change were already being felt with changes to the patterns of extreme weather events. Increasingly, he noted that, 'we will face situations of either too much or not enough water as droughts and floods become more frequent and extreme.' For many people, he said, safe WASH was the difference between coping and not coping with climate change. Among others, Mr Yorke said WaterAid continued to ensure that WASH services were recognised not only as fundamental to development but also essential if people were to withstand the impacts of climate change. With the Sustainable Development Goal Six, ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, not far from being met, he said, 'urgent action is needed. ' The WaterAid Head of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns, said the critical role WASH services played as part of climate adaptation was not well-recognised by governments, donors and even technical experts. Thus, he said the campaign aimed to secure the investment of money, people and skills needed to build strong, resilient WASH systems and to achieve SDG Six goals. Dr. Bob Manteaw, a Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Studies, University of Ghana, whose team conducted research in the Upper East Region, leading up to the campaign, told the Ghana News Agency that 'clearly Climate Change manifests in water either the excess of it through floods or the lack of it through droughts. 'He said because of the variation in temperature and precipitation (rainfall), 'We are witnessing water shortage or excess'. Dr Manteaw said in the Northern part of the country, there was lack of water, revealing what the realities were in local communities and how climate change impeded WASH services delivery. 'If we want resilient WASH services then we need to pay attention to climate change and water sources,' he said. Mr Manuel Alvarinho, former Regulator of Water and Sanitation in Mozambique and a Trust of WaterAid Board, said there needed to be a collective effort and approach to achieve the SDGs on Water and Sanitation. He called on the governments to recommit investments in water and sanitation 'otherwise we won't achieve the SDGs and fight climate change. Mrs Ewurabena Yanyi-Akofur, Country Director of WaterAid, said as part of the goals of the campaign, WaterAid Ghana was calling for an increased investment in climate-resilience and the prioritisation of WASH in national adoption planning. She said for the next five years, WaterAid Ghana was concentrating on three main programmes, including the WASH and climate change programme. Part of the programme, she said, was working with citizens to be part of the campaign to save water bodies and prioritise WASH when having climate change conversations.

Source: Ghana News Agency