- The Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) launches the construction of 10 solar-powered water supply systems in Ghana.
- The new solar-powered facilities will improve the drinking water supply for 2,000 people.
Ten potable water supply (PWS) systems will provide clean water to residents of the Nandom Township and Lambussie District in Ghana’s Upper West Region. The works at Lambussie were started on July 30, 2022, by the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV). The objective is to improve 2,000 people’s living conditions—including those of young children in medical institutions, schools, and communities.
The upcoming systems will have facilities for pumping, storing, and distributing drinkable water. The PWSs will all be powered by solar panels as well. According to a 2018 report by the French company Veolia, more than 3 million people in Ghana, which has an estimated population of 31.7 million, still do not have clean drinking water.
Additionally, SNV intends to construct 50 specialized handwashing facilities in Nandom and Lambussie and 4,000 residential sanitation facilities. The International Water Association (IWA) estimates that 22% of Ghanaians still defecate in the open in 2019, including 4.2 million persons in rural areas where it is widespread.
Part of SNV’s Healthy Future for All (HF4A) project, the work in Ghana. The US-based Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust are funding the effort to increase everyone’s access to water, sanitation, hygiene, and nutrition. Additionally, the HF4A project will accelerate beneficial WASH and food hygiene behavioural changes.