Accra, July 11, GNA - With barely four years to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target, 13 per cent of the Ghanaian population have access to improved sanitation as against the MDGs target of 54 per cent by 2015.

Rural coverage of sanitation is eight per cent whilst urban coverage is 15 per cent with 20 per cent of Ghanaians defecating in the open.

Mr Naa Demedeme, Acting Director in charge of Water and Sanitation of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, said these in Accra on Monday.

He was speaking at a day's symposium on cross sectoral planning to achieve the health related MDGS, on the topic 93Achieving the MDGs the Challenges of Sustainable Access to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation".

Mr Demedeme noted that some regions in the country recorded as high as 80 per cent and cited Upper East Region as an example.

He said with only five percentage increment from eight per cent in 1990 to the 13 per cent in 2008, Ghana had four years to make up the remaining 41 per cent to meet the MDG environmental and sanitation related goal.

The symposium organised by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the National Development Planning Commission, was linked to this year's commemoration of the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) 24th anniversary, which fell on July 9, 2011 on the theme: 93Achieving the MDGs, the Multi-Sectoral Approach".

Attended by the sectors involved, the symposium was aimed at looking at how to accelerate the achievement of health related MDGs in particular using the cross-sectoral approach.

Mr Demedeme explained that from 1994 to 2000, there was an intensive promotion and heavy donor investments in household latrines mostly through subsidies but the results were, low emerging consensus among stakeholders for systematic adoption of Community Led Total Sanitation approach.

He expressed concern about the fact that priority had been given to sanitation and asked 93with most of our programmes being donor funded, our fear is when the donors withdraw the funding, what will then happen to us ?".

On water, Mr Demedeme said Ghana had made tremendous progress by achieving 61 per cent in 2010 as against the MDGs target for water coverage of 76 per cent by 2015.

"This is a clear indication that safe drinking water is on track to meeting the MDG target", he added.

Outlining the challenges faced by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in attaining the MDGs, the Acting Director said there was lack of enforcement of laws and regulations on sanitation and water, which he described as outmoded byelaws that needed to be reviewed.

Mr Demedeme said lack of commitment, low priority given to sanitation at all levels, weak inter-sectoral collaboration and coordination among key sector players, poor attitudes and behaviour of people, weak monitoring and evaluation system for sanitation and water supply as well as inadequate and unreliable data were some of the numerous challenges impeding the positive progress in attaining the MDGs on water and sanitation related targets.

"Open defecation is the last taboo of humanity which must be eliminated in Ghana, we must make sanitation a priority and put in more money to enable us meet the MDG target," he added.

Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, Minister of Health, expressed concern about the attitude of people towards environment and sanitation and called for change in attitude and adoption of a cleanliness to make the country a better and healthier place to live in.

He said the Ministry was intensifying training of public health nurses, midwives and community-based health workers to help in educating the general public especially at the grassroots level on the need for environmental cleanliness.

"We are far away from MDG 4 & 5 and the figures are not too good that, we need to seriously work at it if we want to be among the few countries that will make it by 2015," The Minister said.

Mr Yieleh Chireh reiterated the need for inter=96sectoral approach because the Ministry of Health could not do all by itself.

He said: "We will need the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development for instance to provide accommodation for these nurses who will be working in the rural areas whilst the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing provide quality and safe drinking water for our people."

Dr Daniel Kerterz, World Health Organisation Country Representative to Ghana, expressed the need to adopt a cross-sectoral approach in addressing the MDGs.

He expressed concern about Ghana making almost a zero impact over the past 20 years though the country had identified and outlined all the action plans to mitigate the challenges.

"I believe we have to be more serious and put in more effort to address the challenges, for 2015 is just around the corner and with serious political will we will get there," he added.

Mrs Martha Lutterodt, Chief Pharmacist of Ministry of Health, who read the speech for the Director-General of WAHO, Dr Piacido M. Cardoso, said WAHO had embarked on an MDGS exercise for the last five years to date and it had become urgent to reflect on the achievements of the global commitments by 2015.

She said apart from MDG 5 that focused on maternal mortality which had been described as the most challenging one, the rest should not be seen as a hurdle that could not be addressed.

"Though Ghana is on course, we need to double our steps with all consciousness so that by 2014, we would gather again to applause ourselves for a good work done," she stressed.