World Vision launches 5th School Sanitation Solutions Challenge
By Christabel Oboshie ANNAN, Accra
World Vision Ghana, a Christian humanitarian organization, and its partners have launched the fifth edition of its School Sanitation Solutions (Triple S) challenge in Accra.
The challenge aims to unearth knowledge and solution-oriented ideas from children to tackle Ghana’s sanitation issues through a competition.
The competition is open to all students in the country, across all sixteen regions, from primary six up to Junior High two.
Participants are expected to describe how sanitation problems adversely affect teaching and learning in their communities, based on a topic to be announced in the newspapers.
The overall winner will be unveiled as a ‘Child Sanitation Diplomat’ and will be supported to spearhead sanitation development projects.
The Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Technical Coordinator for the NGO, Mr. Yaw Atta Arhin, stated that there has been tremendous achievement since the introduction of the challenge.
“It has influenced the children to become sanitation conscious and agents of change,” he said.
He noted that the programme has also challenged children to co-create sustainable solutions to sanitation issues in their communities.
“It has also helped them become advocates for the removal of barriers and increased access to improved sanitation, particularly in basic schools,” he stressed.
Yaw Arhin added that World Vision will continue to support the government in accelerating access to improved basic sanitation in the country.
Director at the Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, Kweku Quansah, called on stakeholders in the WASH sector to encourage children to express themselves in decision-making processes.
He said this will enhance the country’s efforts in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, adding that sanitation is a powerful driver of development across all sectors of the economy.
He emphasized that resolving sanitation issues in the country will result in significant resource savings.
He commended World Vision for granting children the platform to unleash their creative ideas and expressed his excitement about females winning the competition in the first four editions of the Triple S challenge.
He also advised various WASH stakeholders to leverage the creative ideas of regional winners for campaigns in basic schools to improve sanitation.
The challenge is organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR), Greater Accra Metropolitan Area Sanitation and Water Project (GAMA-SWP), Zoomlion Foundation, and Kings Hall Media.
The reigning Child Sanitation Diplomat from Effutu MA Basic School in Cape Coast, Adjoa Gyakoa Appiah-Kubi, shared her experiences over the past eight months.
She mentioned that her campaign, over the months have been structured around learning, sensitizing peers, and advocating for better sanitation.
She disclosed that in her peer sensitization efforts, she visited Ganaa Memorial JHS in the Upper West Region, facilitated by CONIWAS and supported by the then Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources.
Her advocacy work included addressing key WASH sector stakeholders and government officials, calling for widespread WASH facilities and an end to open defecation.
