WaterAid, an International Environmental Agency has called on African governments to put pace into efforts at providing basic access to potable water and improved sanitation to their citizenry within five years.

A press statement issued by WaterAid copies of which was made available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) and signed by Mariame Dem, its Head in West Africa said African governments must have the strong political will to set clear achievable targets aimed at realizing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.

The Global Goal 6 aims to ensure access to water and sanitation for all by the year 2030, as an upgrade to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

For a country to be truly developed, the release stated, its people must have basic access to water, proper sanitation and hygiene and this can be achieved through investing in adequate sanitation infrastructure and encouraging hygiene at all level in the environment.

“Protecting and restoring water –related ecosystems, forests, mountains, wetlands and rivers to forestall water scarcity, especially in developing countries, should be other achievable targets”, the statement said.

Visible indicators should be put in place to monitor progress in homes, schools and healthcare facilities.

The statement urged developing countries to ensure donor countries are meeting their commitments on foreign aid and giving more priority to water, sanitation and hygiene.

WaterAid is working in 37 countries across Africa, Asia, Central America and the Pacific Region to transform lives by improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in some of the world’s poorest communities.