WE WILL ALWAYS NEED THE TOILET: THE URGENT NEED FOR THE TOILET CONVERSATION

 

by Kweku Quansah

Every dawn in Ghana, whether in the busiest city or the quietest village, one quiet truth rises with the sun. At one point or another in the day, every human being must answer nature’s private call. Food may delay, clothes may change, technology may leap into new wonders, but as our elders say, the stomach has no calendar. The body’s natural request does not wait for any man, woman or child. That is why the toilet, once viewed as a luxury for the privileged, now stands as one of the most essential cornerstones of human dignity, health, safety, productivity and environmental protection. It may be a small room, yet its power shapes the wellbeing of households, communities and nations.

As the world observes this year’s World Toilet Day under the theme “We Will Always Need the Toilet,” Ghana is reminded that sanitation is not an aspiration but a right, a necessity and a moral responsibility we owe one another. The reality before us is clear. Our population is approaching 35 million, living in nearly 9.75 million households with an average size of 3.6. Yet millions still live without a toilet of their own. In 2021, only about 59.3 percent of households had access to a household toilet, and today, about 4.3 million households remain without one. The numbers speak plainly. We have made progress, but the gap ahead is significant.

Open defecation remains one of the most stubborn and harmful challenges. With 17.7 percent of Ghanaians, nearly six million people, still defecating in the open, the implications are severe. Behind the statistic are girls and women who venture into bushes and beaches at dawn or dusk, exposed and afraid. Families battle preventable diseases such as cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea. Farmers unknowingly irrigate crops with contaminated water, while communities downstream consume food produced from polluted sources. Schoolchildren are forced to choose between enduring discomfort or skipping class entirely. Visitors measure us not by our ambitions but by the smell around public spaces. Every conversation about dignity, tourism, investment, safety and modern development begins, whether we like it or not, with access to a toilet.

But Ghana’s story is not one of despair. It is equally a story of determination and transformation. When Ghana commits, Ghana delivers. The GAMA and GKMA Sanitation and Water Project is a testament to what focused effort can produce. By April 2025, more than 76,000 household toilets had been constructed, and 609 child-friendly, gender-sensitive institutional facilities completed. These interventions, combined with the work of World Vision, the Government of Ghana–UNICEF WASH Programme, private sector innovators, community volunteers and committed NGOs, have helped hundreds of communities achieve open-defecation-free status. The evidence is undeniable. When financing meets political will, when local artisans receive training, when micro-loans are available and when vulnerable households are supported, sanitation becomes a force for dignity and progress.

Yet toilets alone are not enough. Sustainable Development Goal 6 calls for safely managed sanitation for all, not merely access to a toilet structure. Today, only about 16 percent of Ghanaians enjoy safely managed sanitation. More than 8 million households still require a complete sanitation service chain that ensures faecal waste is safely contained, emptied, transported, treated and reused without harming the environment. A toilet that does not properly contain waste offers only half a solution. An overflowing pit becomes a public hazard. A household unable to afford emptying services may revert to unsafe practices. A treatment plant without consistent sludge inflow becomes redundant. Regulations without enforcement become decoration. As our tradition teaches, a cooking pot without a lid invites flies. We must close the sanitation loop fully and responsibly so that no Ghanaian is left behind.

Across Ghana, there are bright examples of what is possible. In dense compound houses in Accra and Kumasi, biodigester toilets have replaced dilapidated shared latrines and unsafe backyard corners. Schools in several districts have shifted from the old habit of “build and abandon” to active facility management supported by small user fees, maintenance committees and school health clubs. Faecal sludge operators have modernised their work with improved trucks, pumping tools and digital payment options. Assemblies have started mapping toilet gaps, enforcing sanitation bye-laws, linking households to artisans and microfinance, and planning desludging routes. Communities like Dohia in the Agortime-Ziope District of the Volta Region have shown that with mobilisation, respect and small seed funds for early adopters, open defecation can become history. These examples show clearly that Ghanaian communities do not lack willingness. They only need opportunity, support and coordination.

The way forward requires strong leadership from Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies. Every district must enforce sanitation bye-laws fairly and firmly, not to punish the poor but to protect public health. Landlords must understand that providing a toilet is not a favour to tenants; it is their civic duty. Assemblies should publish approved toilet technologies, their prices and lists of trained artisans so households are informed. They should organise sanitation fairs, support micro-loan initiatives and reward communities and landlords who take initiative. Assemblies must plan thoroughly by identifying households without toilets, mapping open-defecation hotspots, scheduling desludging routes and ensuring treatment plants operate consistently. Leadership must show the way so that the people can follow.

The private sector has a defining role in this journey. Sanitation is not charity. It is an economic opportunity capable of creating jobs, driving innovation and improving lives. Private suppliers must offer affordable, high-quality toilet systems. Desludging operators must adopt digital platforms and expand coverage to reduce costs. Treatment plant operators must explore opportunities to recover energy, compost and soil conditioners. Innovations must continue, particularly in developing flood-resistant toilets for climate-vulnerable areas, micro-treatment systems for densely populated communities, improved shared-facility models for compound houses and financial products suited to low-income families. The hardest-to-reach communities, often called last-mile communities, demand creativity, flexibility and compassion.

Financing remains central to closing the access gap. A typical improved household toilet costs between GHS 3,000 and GHS 5,000. Many families can manage this through instalment payments, while the poorest will require targeted subsidies or results-based support. A blended finance approach that combines government investment, development assistance and household contributions is essential to bridge the remaining gaps.

Some may wonder why the urgency persists. The answer is simple. Every delayed month keeps children out of school, endangers girls, increases illness, places strain on health facilities and pollutes water bodies. The world is currently off-track in achieving SDG 6.2, but Ghana has the potential to accelerate and stand out as an example for Africa, not because we are flawless but because we are determined. As our elders say, when the roots are deep, the wind does not frighten the tree. Our roots in policy, experience and community mobilisation are strong. What remains is to scale up, speed up and remain consistent.

This World Toilet Day, Ghana must renew its promise to build more than toilets. We must build dignity, safety, resilience and shared responsibility. Government must lead with clarity, enforcement and transparency. Development partners must sustain support despite global financial pressures. Landlords must meet their responsibilities. Communities must reject open defecation. Media and faith leaders must champion sanitation boldly. The private sector must continue to innovate and expand access. Ghana has always known that dignity is development. A toilet behind every door is safety for women and girls, opportunity for schoolchildren, cleanliness for markets, health for families and pride for our national future.

With the right combination of policy direction, district leadership, private sector partnership and citizen responsibility, Ghana can close the sanitation gap once and for all. Let us work with determination to ensure that every household has a toilet they can call their own, where every child, visitor and community can say with confidence that dignity lives here. We will always need the toilet, and the toilet will continue to give us health, productivity and peace of mind. Happy World Toilet Day to all Ghanaians. May every household find dignity behind a toilet door that locks, a handwashing station that works and a sanitation system that protects today, tomorrow and generations yet unborn.

The writer is a Public Health Practitioner and a Fellow of West African Postgraduate College of Environmental Health (WAPCEH)

E-Mail: kwekuquansah@gmail.com