The promotion and construction of household toilets has been one of the major activities of the Environmental Health Unit of the municipal assembly.
The unit embarked on a vigorous sensitization and promotion of household toilets. The Unit engaged Landlords and Landladies in a series of health education on the need to provide toilets in their premises.
Most of them imbibe the message and understood the menace of open defecation. A good number of house owners constructed household toilets which included:
- Vault chamber toilets
- Kumasi Ventilated improved pit latrines (KVIPs)
- Water closets (WC)
- Ventilated improved pit latrines (VIPs)
- Bio-digester toilets
A total of two hundred and twenty-five (225) new household toilets were constructed in the municipality. The table below shows the percentage of increase over last year’s figure.
Tab 1: Household Toilet Promotion
| S/n | Types | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | % INCREASE OVER PREVIOUS YR |
| 1 | Vault chamber | 115 | 132 | 142 |
16.7% |
| 2 | KVIP | 158 | 193 | 233 | |
| 3 | WC | 268 | 353 | 418 | |
| 4 | VIP | 384 | 421 | 471 | |
| 5 | BIO-DIGESTER | 174 | 245 | 305 | |
| TOTAL | 1,099 | 1,344 | 1,569 |
Tab 2: Zonal Distribution of Toilet Types
| TOILET TYPES | VAULT CHAMBER |
KVIP |
WATER CLOSET | VIP | BIO- DIGESTER | |||||
| ZONES/YRS | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Effiduase | 7 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 33 | 21 | 7 | 8 | 29 | 18 |
| Asokore | 6 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 17 | 6 | 17 | 20 | 15 |
| Oyoko | 2 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 9 |
| Jumapo | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 6 |
| Akwadum | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 7 |
| TOTAL | 17 | 10 | 35 | 40 | 85 | 65 | 37 | 55 | 71 | 55 |
OBSERVATIONS:
- Willingness of old household heads and landladies to construct modern latrines if supported financialy
- New landlords are contracting modern latrines like bio-digester and water closet.
- Lack of accessibility (inaccessibility for dislodging) hiders people from constructing.
- Financial constraints among indigenes.
- Most people find themselves in a water-logged area which makes it difficult for them to dig to construct toilet.
Recommendation
- The assembly should be ready to support indigenes in constructing new toilets.
- The assembly should be able to design less- expensive and water-resistant prototype toilet for indigenes.
- Persistent health education on having household latrines.
Conclusion
With financial support from the Assembly and continuous health education, the number of households without proper latrines will reduce.
Kindly find attached pictures: