As part of efforts to address the lack of decent toilets, urinals and potable water facilities in our schools, a non-governmental and apolitical organisation, Africa Schools Sanitation Foundation, has launched a campaign to mobilise resources to build decent toilet facilities and rehabilitate dilapidated ones in deprived schools across the country.
The group, as part of its core values and objectives, will mobilise Ghanaians and other individuals both at home and abroad to raise funds or mobilise resources to build, renovate toilet facilities and provide a befitting general school environment in public schools in Africa with a special emphasis on Ghana.
The founder of the foundation, Mr Osei Tutu, a renowned Ghanaian broadcaster, says his outfit is dedicated to providing a decent school environment for public schools in Africa, particularly, Ghana.
He explained that his entity seeks to mobilise community, individual and business-based resources to achieve the set objective.
To him, successive governments have proven that they alone cannot solve the problems confronting Ghanaians.
Therefore, the citizenry must get involved in the developmental drive by revisiting the spirit of communal labour and mobilisation for a common good.
He, therefore, called on individuals, communities and businesses to partner with his outfit and adopt at least a school in their respective areas for massive facelift exercise.
He disclosed that currently, the foundation, through the benevolence of some persons, has constructed and renovated toilet facilities in four schools across the country.
He intimated that providing a decent school environment, particularly, befitting toilet and urinal facilities, is a step in the right direction.
“This is so because the provision of the aforementioned will eradicate diseases from our schools to safeguard the health needs of students and teachers.”
According to him, the current state of sanitation in our schools was horrible and posed a health risk to our future leaders.
He supported his argument with research conducted by Water Aid in 2013 that indicates that a whopping 1.5 million school children are killed each year in sub-Sahara Africa due to unsanitary conditions in our schools.
According to information from UNICEF and Ghana Statistical Service, only two (2) out of five (5) schools in Ghana have toilet or pit latrines and running water.
Interestingly, there are 18,530, 8,850 and 900 public primary, Junior High School (JHS) and Senior High School (SHS) respectively in the country.
He, therefore, called on individuals, communities and businesses to partner with his outfit and adopt at least a school in their respective areas for massive facelift exercise.
He disclosed that currently, the foundation, through the benevolence of some persons, has constructed and renovated toilet facilities in four schools across the country.
