Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) with support from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is implementing a one-year project to strengthen WASH delivery in selected districts in Ashanti region.

The project is working with the Atwima Kwanwoma District and the Juaben Municipal assemblies to improve access to safe water, sanitation, and good hygiene practices in schools and communities.

Through this collaboration with the two assemblies, four schools where lack of WASH facilities is negatively affecting school attendance for girls during menstruation and general enrollment are benefiting from gender and disability friendly WASH facilities that feature water, toilet cubicles, urinal, and menstrual hygiene management units.

To ensure comprehensive sanitation delivery in the communities of the beneficiary schools, the project is developing community structures and building systems to improve access to household toilet.

As a result, 24 local artisans selected from these communities have undergone a 7-day residential training at the Ada College of Education Bio-Digester Construction and Installation Center in the Greater Accra region.

The training combined knowledge and practice to equip the artisans with the latest skills for the Bio-digester toilet construction and maintenance.

Speaking on behalf of the trainees at the graduation ceremony, the course president, David Kpodo said "we are returning to our communities to help improve sanitation with the knowledge and skills we have acquired from the training."

Bio-digester toilets are onsite toilets designed to rapidly separate human excreta from black-water for degradation under aerobic conditions through the interaction of micro-organisms and macro-organisms. Bio-digesters typically serve as alternatives for the treatment of excreta directly from water closets or pour-flush seats.

The Bio-digester toilet technology is the fastest growing toilet option in urban Ghana. Its use is being promoted by the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources through its World Bank funded GAMA and GKMA water and sanitation project.

Currently, it is the predominant toilet technology in low-income urban communities in the Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi metropolitan areas.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the artisans, Mr Quaranchie Adama-Tettey, Behaviour Change and Communication Specialist on the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources’ GAMA/GKMA project stated that the 2021 Population and Housing Census showed that the bio-digester toilet has become a toilet of choice as it is easy to construct, less expensive and requires minimal space.

He added that the resource reuse potential of the bio-digester toilet fit well into the country’s circular economy moves.

In an interview with John Alate, WSUP’s Project Officer, he stated that ‘supporting the training of local artisans in the bio-digester toilet construction aligns well with WSUP’s work in helping transform cities to benefit millions who lack access to water and sanitation.

He said this initiative will enable them work alongside local providers, enabling them to develop their services so they can reach low-income communities’.