Beyond the MDG water target to universal water coverage in Ghana: the key transformative shifts required
Beyond the MDG water target to universal water coverage in Ghana: the key transformative shifts required
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Date
2018
Authors
Monney, Isaac
Antwi-Agyei, Prince
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Publisher
Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development
Abstract
Ghana achieved its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) water target about a decade before the 2015
deadline. However, as the world shifts focus to achieving sustainable universal water coverage, there is
the need for redoubled efforts to keep up this feat. This paper examines the success drivers and the
major transformative shifts required to sustain efforts in Ghana’s water sector. The findings indicate
that the successes chalked in Ghana’s water sector have been largely fuelled by strong donor support
and a well organised institutional and policy framework. About 90% of funding for the sector has been
contributed by donors and creditors while actual government expenditure remains below 0.5% of GDP.
The country has a strong policy and institutional framework guiding developments in the water sector.
Nevertheless, the dwindling donor support, poor cost recovery mechanisms in the sector, ineffective
strategies for ensuring human right to water, unbridled pollution of freshwater resources, poor
borehole construction, and poor environmental sanitation across the country threaten to unwind the
progress made in the sector. Without a paradigm shift, these could potentially derail efforts at
achieving and sustaining universal water coverage. The paper discusses how these issues can be
addressed to ensure universal access to potable water in the country.
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Citation
Monney, I., & Antwi-Agyei, P. (2018). Beyond the MDG water target to universal water coverage in Ghana: the key transformative shifts required. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 8(2), 127-141.