Background
Opened defecation is a practice that is very predominant in the northern region especially Tamale and its environs. It refers to the practice of one defecating in an open space rather than using a latrine. In 2021, the Catholic Relief Service (CRS) reported that less than one per cent of communities in the Tamale Metropolis is said to be certified as open-defecation-free communities. This means a huge percentage of the population either depends on public toilets or defecates in open spaces.
The situation
Some second-cycle schools in Tamale are not left out of this situation, for us to ascertain the state of toilet facilities in some of these schools; we were at the Ghana Senior high school in the Tamale metropolis.
Ghana Senior High School also known as Ghanasco, was established by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in the year 1960 and is undoubtedly one of the biggest schools in the northern region.
Formerly called Ghana College, the school has produced some distinguished personalities including, former President John Dramani Mahama, Lordina Mahama, Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, Minster for Tourism and Creative Arts, John Jinapor M.P for Yapei Kusulgu, Chief Alhassan Andani former CEO for Stanbic Bank, Alhassan Suhuyini, MP for Tamale north, Hassan Ayariga, Mahama Ayariga, football legends Abedi Ayew Pele and Kwame Ayew and many more.
Unfortunately, hygiene is a big problem in the school as inadequate and bad state of toilet facilities in the school is endangering the lives of students in the school.
The only toilet serving over 1,500 students of Ghanasco during classes and prep hours is shared with some residents in the Kukuo community in Tamale where the school is situated without any form of maintenance. The 12-seater toilet shared among male and female students is full to capacity, therefore users rather defecate around the entrance to the facility.
Because the manhole is full to capacity, maggots come out the holes of the toilet and spread all over the toilet rooms with a terrible smell in and metres around the toilet.
The danger to this situation is that, not just the bad nature of the toilet but students sometimes clashing with the community people over its usage.
To avoid any possible clashes and also contracting any form of infections due to the terrible state of the toilets, the students now resort to Opened Defecation just around their dormitories
Meanwhile, the headmaster of the school Mr. Yakubu Douglas said he is aware of the situation.
He explained that “In Ghanasco here the facility is shared with the Kukuo community, they come in and use the facility, it is good to have a good rapport with the community but sometimes these things are abused.”
The headmaster added that, sometimes his students go there and have to wait until the community people are done before the students are able to use the toilet.
This led me (the reporter) to Gabral/Gbanzaba house which has over 120 students who always engage in open defecation because of the lack of toilets in the dormitory.
This spot here is the location for the practice of open defecation in Ghanasco especially for students of Gabral/ Gbanzaba house. These students inhale the smell of their own faeces while eating or sleeping at the dormitory.
According to the UNICEF, Open defecation has devastating consequences for public health. Faecal contamination of the environment and poor hygiene practices remain a leading cause of child mortality, morbidity, undernutrition and stunting, and can potentially have negative effects on cognitive development.
The inadequate and the bad state of the toilets took us to an old latrine inside the Gabral/Gbanzaba house now serving as a sleeping place for students who said they are sleeping there due to the lack of space in their dormitory.
After seeing the shocking situation and having the student explain why they sleep there, the Headmaster of the school said he is not aware of any situation like that and such has never taken place in Ghanasco.
Conclusion
We, therefore, call on duty bearers, old students and the PTA to take action to stop this practice of opening and the use of toilets as dormitories before a disease outbreak or a huge disaster befalls Ghana Senior High School.
Also, the government must introduce the GAMA project to the greater Tamale area to permanently deal with this situation of open defecation for the safety of the resident of Tamale.
The story was done by Rainbow Radio’s Prince Kwame Tamakloe who is also a member of the Ghana Wash Journalists Network.
