News & events
The Triple-S Ghana project has concluded and is sharing a report of a baseline study on the status of rural water facilities in Ghana.The report presents a synthesis of the results of a baseline assessment of the status of service levels, service providers and support functions in three districts in Ghana.
A Ghana Television (GTV) news item () on the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector stakeholders meeting to form a learning and sharing platform in Ho, the Volta Regional capital of Ghana.The platform will enhance sharing of ideas and knowledge on WASH service delivery in the region. It will also enable practitioners discuss how best to synchronize projects and initiatives, and promote regional WASH sector dialogue and learning through reflective sharing of ideas, experiences and best practices in the sector. ( click to watch video)
The Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), has met with stakeholders to discuss issues on sustaining water service delivery in the sector. It was under the theme: “Sustaining Water Service Delivery: Innovations and Partnerships for Scaling-up”.
Stakeholders in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector in the Volta Region have met in Ho to discuss the establishment of a platform to enhance sharing of ideas and knowledge in the region. It is to help discuss how best to synchronize projects and initiatives for efficient water and sanitation service delivery for people in the region.
The platform is aimed at promoting regional WASH sector dialogue and learning through reflective sharing of ideas, experiences and best practices in the sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) has reiterated the need for facilities to be functional in order to ensure sustainability of service delivery. That is why efforts by the Triple-S project to monitor issues of functionality has been very laudable. This is to say that sustainability cannot take place in a vacuum but needs facilities that are functional.
Dr. Kwabena Nyarko-WASHCost Ghana Country Director and Mrs Vida Duti - IRC Ghana Country Director talk about the need to plan for Capital Maintenance Expenditure as s prerequisite for sustainable Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) service delivery.
Stakeholders in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector in the Northern Region of Ghana have met to form a learning platform, the Regional Level Learning Alliance (RLLAP), in Tamale. It is to promote the sharing of ideas, knowledge and synchronise project activities and initiatives for efficient service delivery.
A committee looking into the costs of supporting communities and water service providers in Ghana is set to recommend a sizable increase in spending to improve functionality and sustainability in rural and peri-urban areas.
Akatsi District Assembly has taken action to address major failures of rural water services in its area, including broken pumps, missing management teams and lack of water quality testing. The district has approved a programme of action and a budget to support it, demonstrating that it has learned from a survey undertaken with the support of Triple-S and is committed to sustainable water service delivery.
The Northern Regional office of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) is taking steps to update data on functionality and sustainability of water facilities in the region.
The Regional office with support from UNICEF Ghana is conducting baseline data collection in ten districts in the region. When completed, this will increase the number of districts with a comprehensive and an updated baseline on functionality, service levels, and performance of service authority and providers to 11.
The initial baseline data was first conducted by the East Gonja District with support from the Triple-S Project and the Northern Regional office of CWSA.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency(CWSA) ,Mr Clement Bugase in this video interview talks about the changing role of his institution as they seek to enhance its ability as a regulator more than a facilitator for the delivery of physical water and sanitation facilities.
A synthesis report produced by the Triple-S Project in Ghana on rural water service levels has affirmed international estimates of non functionality levels of about 30% of point sources.
Financing direct support for water facilities in Ghana is a critical element in the equation for the delivery of sustainable water services. This is video documentary which explores various options and opportunities for post construction support for water and sanitation facilities in Ghana. It draws largely on efforts by two of IRC Ghana’s programmes, the Triple-S and WASHCost projects in facilitating sector dialogue and innovations to addresses the situation.
The Sustainable Services at Scale (Triple-S) Project has for the past three years used the sector learning approach to influence policy and practice in the rural water sector. This is because learning and adaptive management are central to delivering sustainable services.
Triple-S Ghana from joined the Ugandan and International Work streams for a research seminar held in Kampala from September 24 to 26, 2012.
How do you set a tariff for water in a small town, so that people can afford to pay and there is enough money to sustain the service?
The Triple-S Ghana Project in June 2011 started piloting the Service Delivery Approach to delivering water services in three districts, namely East Gonja (Northern Region), Akatsi (Volta Region) and Sunyani West Districts (Brong Ahafo Region). Each of the districts is involved in a set of activities aimed at strengthening the capacity and oversight of service authorities, monitoring functionality and the levels of water services.
Jeremiah Atengdem is the Regional Learning Facilitator of the Triple-S Project in the Northern Region of Ghana. In this audio clip he explains how the project is piloting the Service Delivery Approach in the East Gonja District.
‘It’s about sustainable water services, not just about pumps and pipes’. That was one of the main messages (and title) of a presentation on monitoring water services in Ghana, presented by Marieke Adank from IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre in the ‘Judge us by our outcomes’ session during the World Water Week in Stockholm 2012.
Participants at the MOLE XXIII Conference have called for the establishment a national water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) Fund to finance capital maintenance of facilities to ensure sustainability.
The Triple-S Project in Ghana conducted an assessment of water service delivery in its three pilot districts (East Gonja; Akatsi and Sunyani West) on functionality of water facilities and the level of services provided.
IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, Ghana Programme, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and CONIWAS are organizing a training session on “costing sustainable WASH services” at the MOLE Conference scheduled for August 25th, 2012 in Tamale.
The annual Mole Conference series will this year focus on sector financing. The conference has been slated for August 21 to 25th, 2012 in Tamale. The theme for the 23rd edition of the Conference is ''Financing the WASH Sector: Past, Current Trends and Vision for the future”.
East Gonja District is one of three districts piloting the Service Delivery Approach under the Triple-S Project. The district is struggling with improving its water coverage figure of 46.98%.
The Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) is in the process of finalising a number of service delivery documents to guide the rural water and sanitation sub-sector in Ghana. The documents will critically enhance service delivery in the rural water sector.
The Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS) is calling for civil society groups to be involved in monitoring rural water services across Ghana. According to the Executive Secretary of CONIWAS, Mr Ben Arthur, his members are well placed to monitor the delivery of water services at the community level, in view of their location and length of stay at the communities.
Xetorlogo, is a farming community in the Akatsi District in the Volta Region. Even though the community has a borehole, it is not adequate for its more than 760 residents. The residents are asking for more water. This notwithstanding, the existing borehole is functional and continues to serve the community with clean water. Its sustainability, however, cannot be guaranteed since the Water and Sanitation Committee has been able to save only GHS 600.00 (US$ 310 dollars) over a period of five years, funds it hopes to use to maintain and fix the borehole anytime it breaks down. There are fears that in view of the amount they will not be able to carry out any major rehabilitation, when the need arises.
Ghana through the Community Water and Sanitation Agency is developing a District Operational Manual (DOM) to guide the delivery of water and sanitation services at the local government level. The document is aimed to strengthen the capacity of local government officials as well as address gaps identified in harmonization and coordination of WASH service delivery at the local government level across the country.
What is the true status of all non-functional boreholes in the Akatsi District? This is the question the Akatsi District Assembly wants its District Water and Sanitation Team (DWST) to answer.
Mrs Vida Duti, Ghana Country Director for IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, has emphasized the need for a national framework for monitoring WASH services in an interview on national radio .
After two and a half years of implementing the Project in Ghana, the Triple-S Project is already looking into the future and asking , “what will our legacy in Ghana be and how to address the issue of scaling up the Project?”.
Ghana shared her experience of monitoring sustainable services using the FLOW technology during the 4th Africa Water Week held in Cairo, Egypt from May 14 to 18, 2012.
The Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) has adopted the Service Delivery Approach to providing rural water and sanitation services in Ghana.
The Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) has held its 2011 Annual Review Conference in Kumasi from April 23 to 26, 2012 under the theme “Tracking functionality of WASH facilities - A key to sustainable services”. Participants were drawn from the ten regional offices of CWSA and selected sector institutions.
The Country Director of IRC Ghana, Mrs Vida Duti has presented an anecdote of the Road Travelled on piloting the Water Service Delivery Approach in Ghana.
She chronicles the major activities, outputs and signs of impact of the project from Nov 2009 to date.
Ghana’s Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Kwabena Duffuor joined delegates from 30 other developing countries to participate in the 2nd Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) High Level Meeting on April 20,2012 at the World Bank in Washington, DC.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), Mr Clement Bugase has called for the lessons from the Triple-S Project to be shared with non-pilots districts. Mr Bugase believes the approach used by the Triple-S Project can already kick-start a change in mind set towards sustainable rural services.
Residents of East Gonja District discuss challenges associated with the service levels of water facilities in their Local Government Area. The discussions took place during a District Learning Alliance Platform(DLAP) meeting held in Salaga.
The Triple-S Project is piloting the Service Delivery Approach in three regions of Ghana, namely the Volta ,Brong Ahafo and the Northern Regions. A district has been selected in each of the Regions for the pilot as follows :Volta Region-Akatsi District, Brong Ahafo Region- Sunyani West District and Northern Region- East Gonja District.
An environmental scan was undertaken in each of the pilot regions to gain greater insight into the nature and scope of their water sector.
The Executive Committee of the East Gonja District has pledged it's commitment to improve water supply to its residents. The commitment was made at a meeting to discuss the state of water systems and management structures in the district.
Monitoring of water services delivery is a key factor for sustainability and water for all. This was the key theme of the monitoring and evaluation session at the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille last week. It was observed that most approaches to monitoring focus on coverage measured in terms of numbers of systems built and people served. Mr Clement Bugase, Chief Executive of Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) Ghana, shares views on the steps that Ghana is taking to establish an organized, inclusive and reliable reporting mechanism for rural water supply services .
African governments need to implement sanitation and water plans to accelerate progress made towards improving services especially for the poor and marginalized, demands the Executive Secretary of the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), Mr Ben Arthur.
The case study of how the Sustainable Services at Scale (Triple-S) Project in Ghana has used awareness raising as a stimulus for change was shared at the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille.
The presentation titled: “Talk sustainability, get action”, focused on how the Triple-S Project mainstreamed awareness raising through all the project phases.
The Resource Centre Network(RCN) has a published a set of “WASH Reflections”, a monthly communiqué on highlights of the National Level Learning Alliance platform meetings held in Ghana. “WASH Reflection 20” captures a discussion on the application of a project cycle for the implementation of water and sanitation services in Ghana. The discussions were led by the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, the implementing partner for the Triple-S Project in Ghana.
Ghana is focusing on using a decentralized approach to monitoring rural water services declares the Chief Executive Officer of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), Mr Clement Bugase at the 6th World Water Forum.
In order to develop a framework for analysing and documenting issues related to sustainability of rural water services in Ghana, the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), in collaboration with IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre Ghana, through Triple-S Ghana, has come up with a set of service level and sustainability indicators for rural water services in Ghana. This document gives an overview of these draft indicators.
The Akatsi District in the Volta Region allocated GHS 50,000.00 (approximately USD$ 29,456.82) towards analysing water quality and providing WATSAN training and monitoring in 2012. Allocating money towards these endeavours is part of measures undertaken by the Assembly to ensure the continuous supply of potable water to local residents.
"Service delivery indicators and monitoring to improve sustainability of rural water supplies in Ghana" was presented during the 6th RWSN Forum and draws on the monitoring work in Ghana by the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) and Triple-S. The document examines how monitoring systems can be used to track service levels over time.
The Akatsi District Assembly has collected baseline data on functionality and sustainability of water services using mobile phone technology. Environmental Health Officials and members of the District Water and Sanitation Team were trained through the Triple-S Project as enumerators to collect data using a smart phone with the Field Level Operations Watch (FLOW) software.
Ghana’s SenseMaker ® results are now available! Triple-S Ghana led a questionnaire team to collect a total of 1, 256 stories from water users and water professionals. Read the preliminary report to learn about trends in Ghana’s rural water sector.
Triple-S Ghana leader, Mrs. Vida Affum Duti presented a paper entitled “Islands of success—Policy to practice” during the 6th RWSN Forum in Kampala. Duti shared insights on the steps taken so far by WASH sector actors to facilitate the change process in Ghana’s rural domestic water sector.
The Akatsi District in the Volta Region collected baseline data on all its water facilities using the Field Level Operations Watch, (FLOWs) technology.
Results of the baseline survey conducted by the district under the leadership of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency(CWSA) have been validated in a District Learning Alliance Platform (DLAP) Meeting in Akatsi. The exercise was to collect information on the state of infrastructure and management of water supply in the district.
The Director of Technical Services of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, Mr Emmanuel Gaze is advocating for innovative mechanisms to address the issues of financing in the rural water sector.
The Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) in Ghana is considering a combination of insurance cover and mutual funds between villages to ensure that there is enough money in the system to repair and maintain water systems in rural areas.
Various stakeholders implementing water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in Ghana currently use different approaches in implementing the project cycle to deliver their facilities. This has been identified as a challenge to the involvement of local government in enhancing the long-term sustainability of such facilities.
A water and sanitation Expert, Mr. Robert Van Ess, has therefore called for the harmonisation of the project cycle for implementing WASH service across all projects in Ghana.
Triple-S Ghana is working with the Inter-agency Coordinating Committee(ICC) to strengthen water and sanitation sector learning in the Northern Region. The Inter-agency Coordinating Committee is convened by the Guinea Worm Eradication Programme in collaboration with the Northern Regional Coordinating Council.
As an existing platform for learning, the ICC had in the past focused solely on guinea worm eradication, however, with the attainment of a zero status of guinea worm infections in the region, the committee has started discussing broader WASH sector issues including sustainability of water services in the region.
Ghana recently achieved a zero case status in guinea worm eradication, this means Ghana has not reported any guinea worm infections within the last one year. Ghana will however have to maintain the zero case status for the next three years in order to qualify to be declared as having completely eradicated guinea worm.
The Inter-agency Coordinating Committee(ICC) on the eradication of Guinea worm in Northern Ghana, has been at the forefront of advocating for improved water services in the Northern Region in order to stem the spread of guinea worm.
Ghana has launched the water and sanitation sector performance report for 2010. The report is the second edition to be published by the Ministry of Water Resources Works and Housing. The 83 page document catalogues the gains of the sector over the past year.
The Country Team Leader of Triple-S Ghana, Mrs Vida Duti launched the Triple-S 13-Country study and the Ghana study reports during the Learning Alliance Meeting in Accra.
During the 2011 edition of the MOLE Conference Series, the Community Water and Sanitation Agency and IRC, through the Triple-S Project presented a paper entitled: "Governance, accountability and aid effectiveness: Towards sustainable rural water services”. The Conference was held under the theme: ''Towards Decentralised WASH services delivery: challenges and lessons".
Triple-S is working with rural water stakeholders in Ghana to establish a well defined and participatory monitoring and evaluation system that adequately measures and reports on parameters/indicators for assessing water services in terms of sustainability and functionality.
Triple-S works to forge a closer working relationship between Ghana's business community and other water sector stakeholders.
From August 10 to 12, Triple-S Ghana participated in the 22nd edition of the Mole Conference Series. The Conference, which was organised by the Ghana Coalition of NGO's in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS) is the biggest multi-stakeholder annual platform in the WASH sector in Ghana. Over 150 stakeholders from the sector participated in learning and sharing lessons around the theme of: "Towards decentralized WASH services delivery: challenges and lessons".
WaterAid UK extended an invitation to Triple-S Ghana to attend a workshop on sustainability organised for its West Africa Program staff and partners in Monrovia Liberia, during 1-3 June 2011. The workshop: “Access to Sustainable Rural Water Services” was held in recognition of the sustainability challenge. WaterAid has produced its Global Sustainability Framework- a document which reviews current thinking in this area and presents a way forward for the organisation to fulfil sustainability-related commitments outlined in its Global Strategy. The workshop was the first step towards the ongoing journey of achieving sustainability. It sought to enhance understanding from WaterAid West Africa Regional staff and partners regarding factors which contribute to lasting services, and also advocating for practices and policies which can ensure the indefinite benefits of WASH interventions.
Five country programmes including Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso participated in the workshop.
Triple-S Ghana has selected three regions as centres to pilot the Service Delivery Approach(SDA). Each of the centres selected will be involved in the application of an action research approach where the steps for implementation of SDA and effectiveness in sustainable water service delivery will be documented for replication in other parts of the country.
