Balungu (U/E), July 16, GNA - The Catholic Relief Services (CRS) of Ghana has commissioned 18 boreholes in communities in the Northern and Upper East regions at the cost of US$200,000.00. The project was funded by the Seattle Diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States of America and Life Teen also from the United States of America.

The construction of the boreholes, which was implemented by CRS and its local technical partners, are located in health facilities and schools that lacked potable drinking water. Beneficiary districts in the Northern Region include Bunkpurugu Yinyo, Yendi and East Mamprusi Districts. In the Upper East Region the beneficiary districts are Talensi Nabdam, Kassena Nankana West and Builsa districts, which have communities such as Balungu, Yindure, Namoranteng and Nungo, Nabeo, Gugani, Kalbio, Nayagnia and Kayoro. This was announced at a community durbar organized by the chiefs and people of Balungu to commission one of the boreholes and to also show appreciation to the delegation of Seattle Diocese and the Life Teen of the United States of America.

The Senior Programme Officer of CRS in-charge of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Mr Simon Lary, said a major objective of providing boreholes was to help to improve sanitation and hygiene at health facilities.

"Access to potable water enables health workers and patients to engage in critical sanitary behavior including hand washing and regularly cleaning of health facilities and this reduces risk of infection contracted from health facilities contaminated equipment or unclean environment," Mr. Lary stressed. He said the provision was also to help to reduce the prevalence of water borne diseases including diarrhea, H1N1 influenza infections, and other preventable illnesses and to also create synergies between CRS Ghana in maternal health to achieve greater impact at encouraging pregnant women to deliver at health centres so as to reduce maternal and infant mortality.

He said most girls were not able to attend school regularly during their menstrual periods because of lacked of water in schools and expressed optimism that with the provision of boreholes such problem would be reduced. Mr Idrissu Abotiyire Zakaria, Programme Officer of CRS in-charge of the Community Initiative for Maternal, Child, and Newborn Survival (CIMACS), stressed that the provision of boreholes in the health facilities would increased the attendance of pregnant women to health facilities since that was one the major problem discouraging pregnant women.

Mr Thomas Awiapo of Global Solidarity Coordinator for CRS said CRS had in the past implemented a lot programmes such as school feeding, maternal and infant mortality in the northern regions but realized that water was the core problem. Most communities in the Northern Region lacked water and largely depend on river and dams, which causes illnesses. The Chief of Balungu, Naba Atia Alfa Alebtanga commended CRS for the water projects and appealed to Government to ensure that water reaches majority of people in rural communities. 16 July 11