One Hundred and Six (106) communities in the two districts, 74 of them, in Talensi, and 32, in West Mamprusi, have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) through the implementation of the project, carried out jointly with the beneficiary district assemblies.

Mr. Evans Asante, the Finance Manager of the CRS, announced this when he addressed stakeholders at Tongo in the Talensi District, to celebrate this year's Toilet Day.

'Leaving no one behind" was the theme chosen for the event, which brought together officials from the District Assembly, the Ghana Health Service, Ghana Education Service, school children and the general public.

ICOWASH is a three-year project that employs the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach, hygiene promotion and behavioural change communication strategies in the provision of WASH facilities.

Mr. Asante said under the project, which seeks to benefit about 152,300 school children and adults in the two districts, 173 new gender-sensitive and disability-friendly toilets had been built for schools, health facilities and communities.

Besides, it had also renovated 67 others that were in bad state.

He said the project had additionally sunk 85 boreholes fitted with hand pumps for some communities, schools and health institutions.

He said although some progress had been made, a lot more needed to be done to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly, that pertaining to equal access to basic sanitation services by 2030.

He made reference to the findings of a joint monitoring programme by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) that 19 per cent of Ghanaians - nearly 5.7 million people still practiced open defecation, to buttress his assertion.

"Only 14 per cent of the population in Ghana has access to sanitation while 57 per cent of the population has access to limited sanitation services."

Mr. Asante said for the country to effectively reduce poverty, government and stakeholders needed to work together to expand access to improved sanitation services, including safe toilets for all persons.

Dr. Christopher Boatbil, the District Chief Executive (DCE), applauded CRS for its strong support, especially in the areas of water and sanitation.

He underlined the unwavering resolve of the assembly to ensure that every community had access safe water and sanitation services.