Sustainability and Challenges of the Ghana Integrated Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (GI-Wash) Programme in Ghana: Insights from Kintampo South District
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Abstract
Access to safe drinking water is crucial for sustainable human development worldwide, including in Ghana. The Ghana Integrated Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (GI-WASH) programme was implemented in the Kintampo South District to provide potable drinking water for beneficiary communities. This study explored the programme's sustainability measures and associated challenges. A total of 43 women, girls, and key informants were interviewed. The thematic analysis identified sustainability measures such as establishing community and district-level teams, strengthening the capacity of water management teams and other stakeholders, initiating user fee collection, and creating an online system for accessing spare parts prices. Challenges included inadequate incentives, accountability issues, usage and maintenance conflicts, lack of technical expertise, influence on membership selection, inadequate enforcement of user fees, and insufficient continuous funding. I recommend strengthening sustainability measures through training and capacity building, providing incentives to Water and Sanitation Committee (WSC) members, setting guidelines for user fee collection, establishing conflict resolution mechanisms, exploring alternative funding sources, and implementing accountability protocols.