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Zubaida Abduliah (pseudonym) and three other teenagers from a high school in Tamale begin their journey of several kilometers in search of drinking water.
"We go to the dam every day after school to get some water," she says. She then goes to the water source closest to her community.
The dam, located in Kukuo, on the outskirts of Tamale, is several kilometers from Zubaida High School, but it is the alternative source of water for students since the taps of their school dried up Several weeks.
Although school authorities have tried to remedy the school's lack of drinking water by purchasing water tanks in addition to drilling for students' daily activities, it is insufficient to meet to the health needs of hundreds of students.
"The situation is not good, some of our friends who do not want to go for water in the dam manage what they receive tankers for the week, but it is difficult for us, women, "says Zubaida.
Due to the situation, boarding students sacrifice their time to have more water.
Zubaida says that the unpleasant situation has a huge impact on their studies.
"It's a boarding school and there is time for everything. When we leave like this, we need time to go to the dam and return to school. When we get back, we are tired and we can not study at night, "she laments.
As Zubaida gets closer to the dam, other students from other high schools facing a similar water problem go on their way to fetch water.
But students are not the only users of the dam; cattle have also found their way to the dam to quench their thirst. Students are therefore forced to share the only source of water with animals.
Kareem Mahama, another student, says the dam water is normally mixed with chemicals before consuming it.
But he was quick to add that sometimes, when it became critical, they used raw water to prepare their food in the dormitory, although this poses a health risk to them. .
Persistent problem
The Zubiada School is not the only educational institution affected by the lack of drinking water supply. Two other high schools in the capital, the capital of the North, know the same fate.
The Vittin High School and the Dabokpa Technical School, all located in the Northern Region, invite their students to look for drinking water.
Students gave up their toilets because of the shortage of water.
The two manual wells are defective, the mechanized being connected to the kitchen for the preparation of their meals.
The Northern School of Business in Tamale is not immune to the crisis. The information gathered shows that the situation persists for almost a month.
As in Zubaida, most students have to travel about three kilometers to get to places such as the Tamale Technical University campus and areas like Agric, Gumani looking for water.
According to some students, due to lack of water, most of their toilets have not been washed for weeks, which causes them health problems related to sanitation.
"We have to gather our clothes for weeks and sometimes we just take our pants and other important clothes and we wash them leaving the rest of the clothes dirty," says Halima Yahaya, a student.
She suggests that normally, when it becomes critical, they have access to the water of a manhole in the school, which is not fit for consumption.
Halima says that students are the most affected by the situation because they have trouble keeping clean, especially when they have their period, to wash because they are forced to bathe once a day because of the lack of water.
"Some of us bathe once a day because of lack of water because we struggle to get water and we have to manage it to do a lot of things," says Halima.
Where is Ghana
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) VI, of which Ghana is a signatory, speak of the need to ensure the availability and sustainability of water and sanitation for all.
The global effort for sanitation and water for all by 2030 extends beyond households and includes institutions, such as health facilities and workplaces.
This has been bolstered by global education strategies for all highlighting how water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in schools improve access to water and sanitation. education and learning outcomes, especially for girls, by providing a safe, inclusive and equitable learning environment for all.
Government intervention
But the data shows that the progress made by the country to reach this goal is very slow, especially in schools.
In Ghana, nearly six million people (nearly 22%) depend on surface water to meet their daily water needs, making them vulnerable to water-related diseases, according to WaterAid, Ghana.
In addition, 67% of Ghanaians do not have access to improved sanitation or access to toilets.
Regional Focus
Nii Abbey, public relations manager for the Northern Regional Ghana Water Company (PRO), attributed the problem of water scarcity to a number of problems, including population growth and an irregular power supply.
It indicates that the demand for water in the area is greater than what the company could provide.
"Most of the districts and municipalities are not supposed to belong to the Ghana Water Company, but due to the bad groundwater situation in the north, they have to join because they even dig boreholes, they do not have access to water, "he explains.
According to him, as of the year 2016, the company had a deficit of about 38,267 meters, in 2017- 41,170 cubic meters, to reach 44,178 cubic meters in 2018 and a deficit of about 60 000 cubic meters currently due to the substantial increase in its population.
But Abbey says the company is working on the construction of a new $ 250 million water treatment plant in Buipe on the White Volta, which will help address the current deficits the company faces. .
He adds that the water company previously had its own power line, but due to the continued growth of the population, other communities have been connected to the line, which has reduced the percentage of voltage used by the utility. the Dalun water treatment plant.
"When the plant gets high voltage, it is a problem for communities and when they reduce the voltage, it is a low voltage to power the plant, so you see the challenge. But we are planning to create an alternative station in Nyankpala for the Dalun treatment plant, "he added.
Mr Abbey said that the activities of the illegal sand winters around the Ghana Water Company's factory in Dalun had significantly affected their operations.
It reveals that sand winners use excavators in their activities, which creates a huge problem for the company and pollutes the water mbades.
The Ghana Water Company spends huge sums of money processing raw water before it reaches the consumer.
He called on the winners to adhere to the buffer zone policy by operating about 100 meters from the river.
Government intervention
A total of 450 communities in four regions will benefit from a peri-urban and rural water supply project, the government said recently.
Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said the project "will provide clean water to these peri-urban and rural communities in the following regions: Ashanti, Volta, from East and Greater Accra, with the help of advanced British technology. "
"The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, in collaboration with Aqua Africa Limited, a UK private sector entity, are working together on a market-driven approach to to provide urban and rural communities in Ghana, "he says.
He adds: "The government is embarking on this project as part of the measures to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal No. 6 on drinking water and sanitation for all and to take charge of the rural population that is underserved and difficult to reach ".
"The implementation of this project will maximize social and health benefits, such as clean, safe and reliable water supply, improved school attendance and reduced waterborne diseases," says Oppong. Nkrumah.
"This will also improve access to a reliable supply of drinking water throughout the year. 225,000 people were removed from the first project because of water poverty, "he said.
Thus, while peri-urban areas will have better access to water, students will have to continue to fetch water from miles away from their school.
By Eric Kombat
Warning: "The views / contents expressed in this article only imply that the responsibility of the authors) and do not necessarily reflect those of modern Ghana. Modern Ghana can not be held responsible for inaccurate or incorrect statements contained in this article. "
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