Four basic schools in the Ahafo Ano South-West District of the Ashanti Region have been provided with water and sanitation facilities as part of efforts to improve institutional hygiene standards in the schools.

The beneficiary schools are Wioso, Barniekrom, Afreseni and Kunsu D/A Basic Schools.

Each of them received eight-seater KVIP toilets for both boys and girls, with a 250-litre mounted polytank, a girls’ changing room, a boys’ urinal, a special toilet facility for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), and packs of sanitary pads and gallons of hand sanitisers.

The projects were funded by the District Assembly from its share of the Common Fund, at a total cost of GH¢65,000.00, and they were completed within 12 months.

Abubakar Sedik, District Chief Executive, addressing a gathering at Afreseni, one of the beneficiary communities after commissioning of the projects, said right after assuming office in May last year, he identified inadequate sanitation infrastructure as a major challenge in many schools in the district.

This, he said, required immediate action to safeguard the good health and dignity of both students and teachers in the area, so he moved to engage the key stakeholders to take the necessary steps to solve the problem.

He emphasised that a broader sanitation, educational infrastructure, and public health agenda to extend many such facilities to other communities would be pursued as a priority.

Mr Sedik urged the teachers, assembly members, and other stakeholders to help maintain the facilities as a collective responsibility and prevent them from being damaged.

He mentioned cleanliness, a maintenance culture, and preventing the public from using the facilities as precautions and preservation measures for their long-term use and service to future generations.

Justin Gbotor, the District Director of Education, said it was the directorate's plan to form management committees to ensure the proper use of the facilities through effective supervision and the maintenance of responsibility.

He stressed the need for teachers and pupils to always remain hygienic and extend it to their immediate environments.

Nana Akwasi Owusu, Odikro of Afreseni, commended the Assembly for the projects since they would help promote hygiene and sanitation in the communities.