WATER CRISIS IN GHANA - RAFIU FISHBONE WRITES

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) has the potential to prevent 8 percent of deaths and 10 percent of disease burden in developing countries. Approximately 19,000 Ghanaians, including 5, 100 children under 5 years die each year from diarrhoea. 

Nearly 90% of which is directly attributed to poor water, sanitation and hygiene. In addition poor sanitation is a contributing factor through its impact on malnutrition rates - to the other leading cause of child mortality including malaria and measles.
Universal access to water supply and sanitation would save more than $134 billion in annual health cost, lost productivity and reduce mortality. Open defection costs Ghana US$79 million per year-  

 yet eliminating the practice would require less than 1 million latrines to be built and used. Fiscal contamination of the environment is the root cause of an annual average of 1, 800 cases of cholera affecting Ghana. The cost of the necessary WASH response is estimated to be US$1.2 million each year. People with WASH related diseases fill half health systems that may already require significant capacity support.

 Approximately 1.5 million children under 5 years of age die each year from diarrhea disease that result from poor quality WASH. an estimated 50 percent of under-nutrition is not lack of food but to diarrheal disease and worn infections cause by inadequate WASH. Even pneumonia infections can be reduce by up to 25 percent through access to water and hand washing.

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