WASHCost country selection rationale: Ghana

Ghana has been selected as one of the countries in which the WASHCost project will be implemented. The choice has been based on a number of criteria.

Diversity of WASH services

The vast majority of water services in Ghana are groundwater based. These range from simple point sources (boreholes with handpumps) in the most rural areas, to larger piped schemes in small towns. In rural areas the predominant model for service provision is community ownership and management (COM). In small towns a range of different approaches are being tested. These range from COM under CWSA (Community Water and Sanitation Agency) to different models of private sector management (PRUSPA) and utility management (GWCL).

Governmental support

Governmental support, as expressed in talks with both the head of the Water Directorate and of the CWSA is high. Although at this stage, this is probably as much a reflection of the trust in TREND/KNUST as it is in real understanding of what is being proposed. However, both expressed the fact that unit-costs are a real problem, and that CWSA in particular needs better cost data to use in its existing decision support models.

The organisations involved

There is strong interest from existing partners KNUST and TREND to be involved. IRC already has existing partnerships with TREND and KNUST and both are well connected and seen at all levels and with all stakeholders in the country. There is a need to divide ‘hosting’ between ‘legal’ (KNUST in Kumasi) and ‘physical’ (TREND in Accra) hosting.