Water is Life: Situation Analysis of Access to Household Water Supply in the Wa Municipality, Ghana
Enoch Akwasi Kosoe,
Issaka Kanton Osumanu
Issue:
Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2015
Pages:
1-13
Received:
21 January 2015
Accepted:
29 January 2015
Published:
15 February 2015
Abstract: Far too many people in urban Ghana live without access to safe drinking water and this is a primary determinant of continuing poverty. Using questionnaire survey and key informant interviews, this study explored the situation of households’ access to potable water supply in the Wa Municipality, a low-income urban area in north-west Ghana. This study highlights several important issues on access to water supply focusing on availability, accessibility and cost. A clustered sample of residential areas of the municipality was employed and the study was able to examine spatial disparities in access to water supply. The results indicate that access to potable water supply in the municipality is generally high as only 13 percent of households depend on open wells as their main source. Also, the private sector (individuals and non-governmental organizations) are major players in public water supply in the municipality. In spite of the progress made in access to potable water supply, distance and cost of water remain serious challenges confronting households. The study recognizes that private individuals create additional water facilities to augment public supplies, but the positive impacts on health and livelihoods could be greater if access to finance could be facilitated. Most importantly, water supply improvement strategies should incorporate an integrated vision, which sees adequate and quality water both as a goal in itself and as a contributor to economic and social development through gains in public health.
Abstract: Far too many people in urban Ghana live without access to safe drinking water and this is a primary determinant of continuing poverty. Using questionnaire survey and key informant interviews, this study explored the situation of households’ access to potable water supply in the Wa Municipality, a low-income urban area in north-west Ghana. This stud...
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In the Pursuit of Sustainability: Lessons from the Coffee Sector
Issue:
Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2015
Pages:
14-19
Received:
17 November 2014
Accepted:
26 January 2015
Published:
16 February 2015
Abstract: Recent years have shown an impressive and growing concern about sustainable production of food, fiber and oil crops. As more crops become incorporated into the sustainability realm, which often involves a certification of prescribed production methods/conditions, lessons can be learned from sectors with extant sustainability initiatives. For biofuels, a sector with rapidly expanding areas devoted to cropland worldwide and some debated benefits in both social and environmental issues, lessons from the sustainable coffee sector’s history and development can provide insights about possible paths toward sustainability. This paper presents some of the history and development of the sustainable coffee sector, emphasizing the role of science and inter-institutional relations in the emergence of several initiatives. A number of key issues and themes to consider are explored, hopefully providing some direction to those in the biofuels sector with an interest in sustainability.
Abstract: Recent years have shown an impressive and growing concern about sustainable production of food, fiber and oil crops. As more crops become incorporated into the sustainability realm, which often involves a certification of prescribed production methods/conditions, lessons can be learned from sectors with extant sustainability initiatives. For biofue...
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