The stakeholders, comprising the Ghana Health Service, Civil Society Organisations, and traditional leaders, made the call at a two-day data review meeting on the District Health Information Management Systems (DHIMS), held in Bolgatanga.

DHIMS is a comprehensive health information system used to capture, report, and analyse health data for the healthcare ecosystem in Ghana.

The participants noted that many health facilities, especially at the primary level, still lacked adequate WASH infrastructure such as reliable water supply, safe sanitation systems, and proper hygiene facilities and stressed that the situation undermined effective service delivery and infection prevention.

The workshop formed part of the implementation of the Sexual Health and Reproductive Education (SHARE) project, a five-year initiative funded by Global Affairs Canada and implemented by a consortium led by Right To Play, with support from WaterAid Ghana, FAWE-Ghana, and FHI360.

The project, which is being rolled out in the Kassena-Nankana and Builsa Municipalities, as well as the Kassena-Nankana West and Bongo Districts, aims to advance gender equality by providing access to age-appropriate sexual and reproductive education and gender-responsive care for young people, especially young women and girls.

It also works to improve access to WASH infrastructure and services in public health facilities, particularly at the Community-based Health Planning Services (CHPS) compounds and health centres.

Dr Braimah Baba Abubakari, the Upper East Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, explained that access to WASH services at facility level was key to ensuring Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), and contributed significantly to improving healthcare, especially for pregnant women and children.

The Regional Director underscored the need for government at both national and local levels, particularly Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), to mainstream WASH infrastructure into the provision and construction of health facilities.

“Without WASH services, it is difficult to improve the quality of healthcare and yet access to WASH services is still a major challenge in most of our health facilities.
It is therefore the responsibility of all of us not just to provide health facilities but also to provide WASH facilities for both staff and clients,” he said.

He commended the SHARE project for improving access to WASH services in some beneficiary facilities and appealed for it to be scaled up to other areas for maximum impact.

Ms Augustina Achigibah, the Programmes Manager in charge of WASH for Public Health at WaterAid Ghana, said under the SHARE project, WaterAid had been working over the past four years to support districts in capturing accurate data into DHIMS to provide evidence for planning.

She added that the project had also provided WASH infrastructure in healthcare facilities, including toilets, incinerators, and adolescent health corners, to help improve access to sexual and reproductive health education among young people.

“We need increased investment to drive WASH in healthcare facilities, so the MMDAs need to support the Ghana Health Service to budget for WASH infrastructure. We also need stakeholders such as the districts and communities, including traditional authorities, to sustain the SHARE project after it ends in 2026,” she added.