Such a fund, the NGO said, would enable hard-to-reach communities which do not have the resources to construct and maintain sanitation facilities such as latrines to access fund to build and maintain such facilities.

Mr Salifu Freeman Kanton, the Executive Director of CARO, said this in a statement copied the Ghana News Agency on the occasion of the celebration of the Global Hand Washing Day.

He said this is necessary because over the period there have been setbacks to the construction of household latrines in the quest to achieve Open Defecation Free (ODF) status in communities.

Mr Kanton also called on the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to renew their commitment and enforce laws on sanitation in the Water and Sanitation Hygiene sub-sector especially in the Upper West Region.

"It is sad to notice that 72 per cent of people in the Upper West Region are still involved in Open Defecation (OD) and about seven out of every 10 people do not have an improved sanitation facility in their homes", the CARO Executive Director said.

Mr Kanton said since 2008, CARO Ghana had been working assiduously in the WASH sector in the Upper West Region through the training of over 140 stakeholders in the WASH sub-sector on proper Hand Washing with Soap (HWWS) and Household Water Treatment and safe Storage (HWTS) mechanisms in several districts in the region.

"We have trained people in more than 500 communities on the construction of local hand washing facilities such as the tippy-tap, magic bottle and veronica buckets", he said. He said the NGO also trained soap retailers, food vendors, chemical sellers, under takers and natural leaders in some communities on HWWS and Hygiene practices.

Mr Freeman Kanton said CARO Ghana would continue to advocate and sensitize communities on proper HWWS and the need to maintain a clean environment and ensure proper sanitation conditions in the region.