President John Kufuor on Tuesday said one of the most basic challenges facing the country was how to provide potable water nationwide in a sustainable manner. He said it was because of this challenge that government was pursuing private sector participation in the provision of water since government would not be able to fund the huge investments needed.

"Investment in water will have to be at the top of the agenda in any scheme that seeks to boost the health of the nation," he said at the launch of the Ghana Macroeconomics and Health (GMH) Initiative in Accra.

A workshop to disseminate and discuss with stakeholders the findings and recommendations of the WHO/CMH report and how to mobilise political support and advocacy at both the local and international levels to attract additional funds to health related areas was held after the launch.

The Commission on Macroeconomics and Health (GMH) was established in January 2000 by the Director-General of the WHO, Gro Harlem Brundtland to assess the place of health in global economic development. The Commission's report provided compelling evidence that better health for the world's poor was not only an important goal but could also act as a catalyst for economic development and poverty reduction.

President Kufuor said in the urban areas where the pressure of population growth was most acute, only 59 per cent of the people had ready access to potable water and the situation in the rural areas was worse. "This has made diseases such as guinea worm and buruli ulcer to remain endemic in many parts of the country," he added.

President Kufuor called on the district assemblies to take up the challenge to arrest environmental degradation. The public should stop littering the environment with plastic sachets while businesses involved in the use of plastic sachets should be more alive to their responsibilities to the communities where they operate by keeping their surroundings clean.

Mrs Emma Mitchell, Member of the Council of State, who chaired the function stressed the need for government to provide adequate investment in the health sector in order to promote economic development and reduce poverty. She recommended a shift towards an increase in the government's budget allocation to the health sector to enable the poor particularly those in the rural areas to have access to health care.