Ms Adjoa Gyakoa Appiah-Kubi, a Child Sanitation Diplomat, has adopted the Ganaa Memorial Junior High School at Jirapa in the Upper West Region has promised to improve sanitation and hygiene in the school. She assured the school children that she would liaise with and seek support from the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS) and other partners, including World Vision Ghana to improve Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) systems in the schools. Ms Appiah-Kubi made the promise when she visited to introduce herself and interact with the school children on the side-lines of the 34th Mole WASH conference, underway at Jirapa in the region. The CONIWAS, with support from its partners, is organising a four-day conference on the theme 'building inclusive and resilient Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) systems to reach the unserved'. It is being attended by 170 participants, comprising policymakers, government actors, practitioners, Members of Parliament (MPs) as well as Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs). Ms Appiah-Kubi, who is the national sanitation campaigner, explained personal hygiene improved good health, and advised the school children to endeavour to wash their hands under running water any time they visited the nature call. Accompanied by Dr Freda Prempeh, the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources other key officials of the Ministry and some Executives of the CONIWAS, Ms Appiah-Kubi advised the school children against the practice of Open Defecation that could lead to the outbreak of diseases. On her part, Dr Prempeh urged the school children to pick inspiration from the Diplomat, study hard and join the campaign OD and the destruction of water bodies. Mrs Adeline Nimbare, the headmistress, said the school had 170 students and appealed for washrooms to improve its sanitation situation. She said the school's local toilets for boys and girls were not the best and had even overflowed for some time now, and appealed for new facilities for the school children, saying it also required tissue paper, liquid soap, and other WASH equipment. Ms. Beata Awinpoka Akanyani, the Chairman of CONIWAS, earlier told the school children the conference, among other objectives, sought to discuss how the implementation of resilient WASH systems will address access and equity, and how current service delivery models will impact Ghana's pace towards achieving WASH for all.

Source: Ghana News Agency