A new study has revealed that Ghana loses over 290 million dollars yearly due to poor sanitation.

The money is the cost of spending on clearing huge refuse within cities and health care spending as a result of sanitation related disease outbreaks among others.

Also, five out of six Ghanaians representing 85 percent of the population do not have access to proper sanitation.

These details were revealed at a seminar organized by the government and UNICEF in the Upper West region.

On water the research revealed that six in ten households have access to safe water making up 60% of the population and a further three in 10 drink bottled or sachet water representing 30 percent of the entire population.

It also stated that more than three in five basic schools have no water supply while more than two in five basic schools have no toilets.

It also revealed that less than two in five Ghanaians drink water that is safe to drink, representing 37 of the population. The report added that 17 million Ghanaians drink unsafe water.

The damning research also revealed that 3,600 children under five die annually in Ghana from diarrhoea. While 79 million dollars a year is lost due to open defecation.

According to the research 946 million people defecate in the open globally with five million in Ghana.

The research also revealed that 85 percent of Ghanaians do not have access to improved sanitation. Ghana is currently ranked 7th worst in the world for access to improved sanitation.