Mr John Nedjo, a consultant and leader of the survey team, said the ground water in parts of the Boogo and Talensi districts showed high levels of fluoride and called for samples of the water to be tested twice in a year to determine its wholesomeness for human consumption.

The survey was carried out from the period of June to July 2019 in the Bongo, Pusiga, Binduri, Nabdam, Talensi and Kasena Nankana districts.

Mr Nedjo made the call at a stakeholders' forum on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), organised to validate the survey report, conducted by Centre for Development Partnership and Innovations (CDPI) in collaboration with the Ghana Red Cross Society.

He said findings and suggestions of the report would provide indepth information for development partners and future researchers who may wish to dig deeper into WASH situations in the Upper East Region for development and academic purposes.

Mr Paul Wooma, the Upper East Regional Manager of GRCS, said the forum was to afford participants the opportunity to proffer ideas and suggestions to enrich the baseline report and finalize it for adoption and implementation.

Mr Wooma said despite several interventions by government and other key development partners on WASH, its results still needed improvement.

He said in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals as stated in SDG 6, it is necessary for the survey document to be put across to aid stakeholders in their bid to provide WASH facilities to the populace.

Mr Wooma expressed optimism that the presentation of the report would help address the numerous WASH challenges confronting the region.