Over half of the North East Region’s urban households (54.0%) practice open defecation. This is according to the Ghana Statistical Service’s (GSS) 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) General Report on Water and Sanitation.

The region was seconded by the Savannah Region where 51.9% practice open defecation – the figures being more than five times the national urban average of 8.8 percent.

The data was highlighted in commemoration of World Cities Day which is observed annually on 31st October to end the observance of Urban October which was instituted to raise awareness on the challenges facing urban areas.

World Cities Day is to raise awareness about global urbanization and push for global cooperation in sustainable urban development.

The GSS had revealed that almost half a million (449,849) households in Ghana’s urban centres did not have a toilet facility and were practising open defecation.

Another 1.3 million urban households also did not have a toilet facility but used public toilet facilities.

“In all, there were six regions with over 20.0 percent of urban households practising open defecation,” the report stated.