Water supply and sanitation in Ghana : turning finance into services for 2015 and beyond

Since the early 1990s, Ghana’s water and sanitation sector has seen major reforms to address weaknesses. Appropriate
institutional, legal, and regulatory structures are now largely in place, particularly for the urban and rural water supply subsectors. The Ministry of Water Resources, Works, and Housing (MoWRWH) has provided leadership in the area of drinking water supply, kept to policy formulation, and encouraged and supported the agencies under it to perform their roles. There are clear lines of responsibility and all subsector policies have been consolidated into the National Water Policy (NWP) and the National Environmental Sanitation Policy. The Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate (EHSD) within the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), recently upgraded to a directorate, has taken on a leadership role for sanitation in Ghana. Yet considerable efforts are still required in the sanitation subsectors, not the least of which is to strengthen EHSD’s capacity. Whilst the enabling environment has been largely created, developing and sustaining service delivery presently needs greater emphasis. (authors abstract)

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