The 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) revealed that five million Ghanaians, representing 17.7 per cent of the population, practise open defecation.
This is mind-blowing and heartrending considering the health implications this insanitary practice has on humans, especially individuals residing in places where open defaecation is common.
Wikipedia defines open defecation as the human practice of defecating outside, in the open. In lieu of toilets, people use fields, bushes, forests, open bodies of water or other open spaces.
Various studies have proven that faecal contamination of the environment leads to various health conditions.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Just Monitoring Programme (JMP) 2021 report, 494 million people practise open defaecation worldwide, 92 per cent of them live in rural areas and nearly half of them live in sub-Saharan Africa.
More heartbreaking is the impact the menace has on children. Open defecation has been closely linked to child mortality rates. Health practitioners have warned that the absence of adequate sanitation facilities and exposure to insanitary environments increase the vulnerability of children to diseases, leading to higher rates of child morbidity and mortality.
The fact that open defecation is commonly practised in rural and impoverished communities alone, is a cause for alarm because such areas mostly lack well equipped health facilities to properly treat sick people so if they become over burdened with patients suffering from open defaecation-related diseases, efficient treatment becomes almost impossible.
A medical doctor at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Eugene Antwi, in an interview with the Ghanaian Times on the life-threatening effects of open defecation said the practice leads to the transmission of microorganisms that causes diarrheal diseases, adding that the disease had adverse effects on children under five especially, and could even lead to death.
Explaining, he said children easily ingest faecal pathogens, creating a reservoir parasites, bacteria and virus which causes severe gastrointestinal infections which could lead to stunted growth and other health conditions.
Also, he bemoaned that human excreta attracts flies and other insects that fly around after settling on faeces left in the open, spreading disease causing germs after landing on food and other consumables.
The doctor further revealed that cholera, typhoid, dysentery, hepatitis A and amoebic could be linked to open defecation.
He therefore advised the public to take sanitation issues seriously and desist from endangering their lives by exposing themselves to situations that could put their health at risk.
“A lot of people take many things for granted in this country. Do not see diarrheal diseases as not so serious conditions because they can be life-threatening. We have seen many die of cholera in this country so the reality is already known. Make cleanliness a priority and stop open defecation,” Dr Antwi advised.
NORTHERN GHANA OPEN DEFAECATION SITUATION
Making a presentation on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Ghana at a forum recently, Chairman for the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation, Mr Yaw Attah Arhin, said there were more people practising open defaecation in Ghana today than there was in 1990.
He made reference to Ghana’s 2021 PHC, saying in all the five Northern regions, more than 50 per cent of the population practised open defecation, revealing that the Savannah and Upper East regions recorded open defecation rates of 68.5 per cent and 68.4 per cent against a national average of 17.7 per cent.
“All 10 leading open defecation districts in Ghana are in Northern Ghana (Wa, East, Bongo, Nabdam, Mamprugu-Moagduri, East Gonja, North Gonja, Nanunba North and Nanumba South with open defecation rates ranging from 81.7 to 89.6 per cent,” he added.
INTERVENTION OF GOVERNMENT AND SOME NGOs
Government, among other interventions, in November 2020 launched the Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area Sanitation and Water Project in efforts to increase access to safe drinking water and also address open defecation in the country.
The project is a US$150million initiative by the World Bank and the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources that seeks to help lower income level communities have access to affordable toilet and water facilities. The programme has so far been rated as highly successful by the World Bank.
The UNICEF, World Vision Ghana and Water Aid are also among NGOs contributing towards eradicating open defecation and enhancing Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services in deprived communities in Ghana.
HOW COMMUNITY AND RELIGIOUS
LEADERS CAN HELP COMBAT OPEN
DEFAECATION
The initiation of community-wide campaigns, by traditional authorities to educate residents about the health risks associated with open defaecation, as often as possible would help reduce the menace. Also, religious leaders must always include messages on sanitation and hygiene in their sermons, gatherings, and events, especially in areas where open defecation is commonly practised. The influence of these leaders can help in reaching a broader audience and reinforcing the importance of good sanitation practices.
PROSECUTION
If it will take the frequent prosecution of individuals caught practising open defecation to bring a stop to this menace, then that should be the case. Landlords must be prevented from renting out their properties without decent toilet facilities and those who refuse to comply, made to face the law.
If stringent measures are not taken to address the matter more rigorously, it will not end as fast as we want it to because those who practise open defaecation would continue no matter the number of times they get infected with diarrhea. Any time they have bowel attacks they will just turn around to a convenient or nearby bush or water body and pass waste.
This translates to the reality that frequent diarrhea as a result of open defaecation means unending open defecation practice.
Let us say no to open defaecation.
BY RAISSA SAMBOU
