Africa-Press – Ghana. Benedicta Awurawobe vividly recalls the panic and discomfort of one hot afternoon in 2018 when she accompanied her uncle’s wife to deliver at the Katiu Community-based Health Planning Services (CHPS) compound in the Kassena-Nankana West District.
After a safe delivery, joy quickly turned into anxiety. The health facility had no running water. There was no water for the new mother to take her bath, clean herself, or wash her baby’s clothes.
Benedicta had to hurry back home, grab a bucket, and search for water outside the compound to return to the facility.
“That day was hectic,” she said, adding, “I was worried for the mother and the baby. We did not expect to be fetching water when someone had just delivered. It was stressful.”
Lack of WASH infrastructure hampering quality healthcare
Apart from the only health facility in the area not having water running through the various wards and at vantage points for hygiene practices, the facility also lacked washrooms and bathrooms for staff, clients, and their relatives.
This compelled many clients, especially those who had delivered at the facility, to either be discharged early or rely on relatives to take their clothes home to wash and return.
Additionally, the facility did not have an incinerator, forcing clients who had delivered to take the placenta home for disposal.
A new model
However, when Benedicta herself returned to the same facility in 2024 to give birth to her first child, the 28-year-old was greeted by a completely different reality.
“The experience was peaceful this time. There was water flowing everywhere, in the wards, the delivery room, and even in the bathing area. After delivery, I could take my bath comfortably. It felt like a real hospital,” she recalled with a smile.
The transformation of the Katiu CHPS compound is the result of an intervention by WaterAid Ghana, with funding support from the Zochonis Charitable Trust, a UK-based organisation.
The project, under WaterAid Ghana’s Inclusive Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Health Facilities Programme, which began in 2019, has breathed new life into maternal healthcare delivery in the rural community.
Through the intervention, the health facility now boasts of a solar-powered mechanised water system, water-closet toilets, a biodigester sanitation system, and a double-chamber incinerator.
Water flows through the maternity and outpatient departments and other vantage points, making it easier for health workers to maintain hygiene and provide quality care to mothers and their newborns.
Additionally, the intervention renovated the maternity ward, which was previously in a deplorable state and leaked whenever it rained.
Benedicta’s experience is not an isolated case. Many residents within Katiu and its environs now feel comfortable accessing healthcare services at the CHPS compound due to the improvements in WASH-related infrastructure.
Relief for residents and staff
According to Mr Justine Batediwor Kuluma, an opinion leader, the improvement in WASH infrastructure has been a relief to the community and has significantly enhanced healthcare delivery.
“Our women do not suffer like they used to,” Mr Kuluma said, adding “they used to struggle to get water to bath and wash their clothes whenever they came here to deliver and there was also no place to bury the placenta.”
He cited for instance that, “unlike with my two other children, when I had to carry water from home to the health facility when my wife delivered, it was different with the third child.
“In the middle of one night in September last year (2024) when my wife was in labour, we didn’t have to fetch water from outside because everything was inside the facility and after delivery, she bathed, and we had water to wash clothes.”
He, however, appealed to the government and other organisations to support the facility with consumables such as tissue paper, hand gloves, and medications to ensure quality care.
When visited the facility, it observed that the washrooms and bathrooms were clean, with taps fixed at various points, making it easier for health workers to perform their duties.
Aside from boosting hygiene and infection control, the availability of water has restored dignity to mothers and their caregivers, especially during the vulnerable moments of childbirth.
Improvement in health outcomes
In an interview, Mr Peter Ateebire Ateere, Public Health Nurse and Katiu/Nakong Sub-district Leader, noted that before the intervention, it was difficult for staff and clients to relieve themselves or wash up when necessary.
“We did not have a toilet facility, the only one available was outside the facility and it was meant only for urination. Even though we had a borehole nearby, it was not mechanised, so we had to compete with the community for water, and this was affecting healthcare delivery,” he said.
Mr Ateere, who is also the In-Charge of the Katiu CHPS compound, indicated that the installation of WASH facilities had helped improve Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practices among staff.
“Before this intervention, we struggled a lot. Sometimes we had to ask relatives to fetch water from far away just to clean up after delivery. Now, we have water in all critical areas. It is a huge relief, and it is helping us save lives,” he said.
He added that the intervention has also increased attendance and outpatient numbers.
“We are now recording high numbers, unlike before when people did not feel comfortable visiting the facility. This has helped us to increase our internally generated funds, which we are using to maintain the facilities,” he noted.
For Ms Esther Chanagia, a midwife at the Katiu CHPS compound, the changes have not only improved service delivery but also enhanced working conditions, enabling them to better observe IPC practices.
The need to integrate the model nationwide
The story of the Katiu CHPS compound reflects a broader truth that, access to clean water and WASH infrastructure is not a luxury but a necessity, one that can determine the outcome of life’s most delicate moments.
Apart from the Katiu CHPS compound, WaterAid Ghana has implemented similar interventions in other health facilities across the Upper East Region.
For instance, in partnership with other organisations, WaterAid Ghana has constructed WASH facilities at Denegu Health Centre and Songo Health Centre in the Garu District, Tilli Health Centre in the Bawku West District, and Kongo CHPS compound and Basyonde Health Centre in the Tempane District.
These models ensure that health care facilities have biodigester and water-closet toilets, handwashing points, bathrooms for staff and clients, water supply throughout, and incinerators for proper disposal of placentas and other waste, which contributing to improving health delivery in those areas.
It is an undeniable fact that access to WASH services in healthcare facilities is critical to preventing infections and improving health outcomes. Yet, many facilities across Ghana still lack basic water, sanitation, and hygiene services.
According to a WHO/UNICEF 2019 report, globally, one in eight healthcare facilities has no water services, and one in five has no sanitation services, affecting 900 million and 1.5 billion people, respectively.
The same report revealed that nearly 30 per cent of healthcare facilities in Ghana lack basic water services, while approximately 50 per cent lack basic sanitation services.
Beyond the Sustainable Development Goals (particularly Goal 6, on access to water and sanitation and Goal 3, on health), Ghana’s commitment to achieving Universal Health Coverage depends on access to quality health services and access to WASH services in healthcare facilities was crucial in this effort.
It is therefore critical for the government to urgently adopt WaterAid Ghana’s model and mainstream WASH infrastructure into the construction and upgrading of all healthcare facilities across the country to ensure that WASH services were running through the facilities for better outcomes.
Source: Ghana News Agency
For More News And Analysis About Ghana Follow Africa-Press
