For generations, Ghana’s sanitation challenge was considered an issue for adults to resolve.

Today, however, children have become the most powerful voices in the campaign for a cleaner and healthier environment.

Sanitation is fundamental to health, socio-economic progress and child well-being.

Yet, according to UNICEF, the world remains alarmingly off track to achieve universal sanitation by 2030.

Despite modest progress, two billion people still lack access to basic sanitation.

To sustain progress, it is vital to reawaken national consciousness towards building a cleaner, healthier and more prosperous society.

The School Sanitation Solutions Challenge, commonly referred to as the Triple S Challenge, has provided an innovative avenue by engaging children directly in this mission.

Organised annually since 2020 for pupils from Class Six to JHS Two, the Triple S Challenge is spearheaded by World Vision Ghana (WVG) and its partners.

It seeks to inspire children to become sanitation-conscious agents of change, encouraging them to co-create sustainable solutions to the sanitation challenges they face.

The process

The Challenge begins with an official launch, bringing together the media and key stakeholders. Its stages include:

• Publication of an essay topic on environmental sanitation and waste management, inviting submissions for the Common Contest.
• Marking of entries by examiners and subject matter experts, who shortlist the best from each zone.
• Selection of 20 contestants for the Masters’ Encounter, where they defend their essays and demonstrate knowledge before a panel of experts.
• Zonal competitions, where participants showcase their advocacy, problem-solving skills and understanding of sanitation issues.
• Selection of four finalists to compete in the Battle of Champions (Grand Finale) at the National Theatre in Accra, as part of the National Children’s Sanitation Festival.

This year’s edition, the sixth since its inception, was launched three months ago. Thousands of children entered the Common Contest, later divided into four zones: Coconut, Tilapia, Cocoa and Shea.

• Tilapia Zone: Greater Accra, Oti and Volta Regions
• Coconut Zone: Central, Western and Western North Regions
• Cocoa Zone: Ashanti, Bono, Bono East, Eastern and Ahafo Regions
• Shea Zone: Northern, North East, Savanna, Upper East and Upper West Regions

The 2025 finalists

The four contestants who have qualified for the Battle of Champions are:

• Coconut Zone: Desiree Ohemaa Amponsah Duah, 13, Asante Gold Bibiani Limited Basic School, Western North Region.
• Tilapia Zone: Artaldus Sung Kuuntanaa, 13, Accra College of Education Demonstration School, Greater Accra Region.
• Shea Zone: Emmanuella Kolbila, Charis Christian Mission School, Walewale, North East Region.
• Cocoa Zone: Kwabena Owusu Nyarko, Yiadom Boakye Demonstration School “B”, Berekum, Bono Region.

From timid pupils to national advocates

The success stories of past Child Sanitation Diplomats highlight the transformative power of the programme.

In 2020/21, Miss Neriah Tettey, then a 12-year-old pupil of Silicon Valley International School in Accra, became the maiden Child Sanitation Diplomat.

She embarked on sensitisation campaigns through traditional and social media, addressed national conferences, and urged her peers to fight open defecation and indiscriminate littering.

The following year, Mawadatu Naziru of Damongo Girls’ Model School in the Savannah Region, affectionately known as Mawada, took the mantle.

A once timid girl, Mawada became a bold advocate, engaging high-profile leaders including chiefs, ministers and legislators.

Her advocacy helped ten communities achieve Open Defecation Free (ODF) status.

In 2022, Maame Akua Ohenewaa Gyimah turned her personal experience of indignity from open defecation into a national campaign.

Her advocacy led to the construction of two toilet facilities in her school cluster, and she later addressed the global All Systems Connect Conference in the Netherlands, as well as undertaking learning tours in Hungary and Austria.

The 2023 diplomat, Adjoa Gyakoa Appiah-Kubi, urged adults to lead by example in ending poor sanitation habits, while the 2024 diplomat, Faraj Timtoni Wumbei, has worked closely with ministers and traditional leaders to inspire change.

Carrying the Legacy Forward

The Child Sanitation Diplomat carries more than a title; they embody the hopes of a nation striving for a cleaner future. Each diplomat builds upon the legacy of their predecessors, ensuring that children’s voices remain central to the sanitation conversation.

The grand finale

The Battle of Champions for the 6th School Sanitation Solutions Challenge will take place on Monday, 22 September 2025, at the National Theatre in Accra.

So, who will claim the mantle of 2025/2026 Child Sanitation Diplomat—Desiree Ohemaa Amponsah Duah, Artaldus Sung Kuuntanaa, Emmanuella Kolbila, or Kwabena Owusu Nyarko?