ABOUT 5.4 million Ghanaians still practise open defecation across the country, representing 18 per cent of the national population, Mr Yaw Attah Arhin, WASH Technical Specialist at World Vision Ghana, has disclosed.
He described the situation as alarming, warning that it continues to undermine public health, child survival and national development.

The practice, he noted, costs the nation an estimated US$79 million annually, while Ghana loses US$290 million every year to poor sanitation.

Mr Arhin, who was speaking in Accra at a summit with creative arts stakeholders and morning show hosts to commemorate the 2025 World Toilet Day, explained that diarrhoea-related deaths among children remain a major concern, with 3,600 children dying each year from the disease alone.

He stressed that the country could not achieve its development targets if sanitation challenges, particularly open defecation, remain widespread.
He described the scale of the problem as a national emergency, noting that unsafe sanitation puts not only children and women at risk but all Ghanaians.

“With 5.4 million people engaged in open defecation, coupled with inadequate infrastructure, the country remains vulnerable to diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea.”

“The 2021 Population and Housing Census,” he said, “further highlights the severity of the situation: 55 per cent of the population share toilets, while 23 per cent rely on public toilet facilities,” Mr Arhin underscored.

This, he said, makes it almost impossible to prevent the frequent spread of sanitation-related ailments.
“Because of the numbers involved, there is no way we can avoid diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera,” he said.

Mr Arhin cited UNICEF research revealing that one gram of human faeces could contain 10 million viruses, one million bacteria, 1,000 parasite cysts and 100 parasitic eggs, stressing that the scientific evidence alone should prompt urgent national action.

Touching on educational institutions, he described the sanitation situation in public basic schools as disturbing.
“Data from the Ministry of Education, gathered through its education management software, show that 26 per cent of all public basic schools—over 7,500—lack toilet facilities,” the WASH specialist noted.

The absence of school toilets, he said, forces pupils to resort to bushes or return home during school hours, contributing to absenteeism, poor academic performance and exposure to abuse.
He noted that girls are particularly affected, as many choose to skip school entirely due to lack of privacy and hygiene.

Mr Arhin added that infections linked to open defecation and poor sanitation account for 15 per cent of all maternal deaths in the country, underscoring the dangerous intersection between sanitation and maternal health.

He urged film producers, musicians, influencers and broadcasters to incorporate sanitation messages into their work, arguing that their collective platforms could shift public attitudes significantly.
“If every film, every song, every influencer consistently championed the message of ending open defecation, the impact would be transformative,” he said.

With World Toilet Day observed today on the global theme “We will always need the toilet,” he called for stronger prioritisation, sustained financing and unified stakeholder action.
He urged the nation to reawaken its “sanitation conscience,” place sanitation at the forefront of public discourse and work collectively to make hygiene a way of life.