Sanitation challenges for a new municipal assembly in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana

Accra, the capital of Ghana, is one of the fastest growing cities in West Africa and the boundaries of urban Accra have long since expanded beyond the administrative borders of Accra Metropolitan Area. One way to deal with the fast growing population in some areas has been to create new administrative units, i.e. divide large administrative enclaves into smaller ones. Consequently, Adenta Municipal Assembly (AdMA) is since February 2008 a municipality in its own right.

An interview-based study was performed with stakeholders from the Assembly and sanitation providers in the Municipality to understand perceptions of sanitation challenges in the area. From the stakeholders’ perspective, one of the greatest challenges is the attitude of residents, making public education and awareness raising regarding the connection between sanitation, behaviour and health pertinent in remedial actions. Capacity building, logistics and human resources are mentioned as challenging areas that the new Assembly need to develop further. More efficient service delivery and competitive involvement of the private sector is also asked for.