NDPC DG Underscores WASH As Key To Ghana’s Health And Economic Resilience

The Director-General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Dr. Audrey Smock Amoah, has stated that Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) are vital to Ghana's development, driving public health, resilience, and economic growth. 

She stressed that achieving these goals requires robust local accountability, dedicated financing, and coordinated institutional action.

To ensure progress toward national targets, she proposed five key strategies, including treating WASH as critical economic infrastructure, strengthening policy enforcement, and enhancing public-private partnerships. 

Furthermore, she emphasized the importance of prioritizing WASH for Ghana's economic development, noting that 20% of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) is now ring-fenced for these initiatives.

Addressing stakeholders in the WASH sector, she noted that they are meeting at a pivotal moment in Ghana’s development journey, as the nation pursues accelerated economic transformation, improved public health, and environmental sustainability. 

In this effort, she added that WASH stands as a national priority target in the SDG Transformation Commitment—specifically Target 6.2, which calls for universal access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene by 2030.

Dr. Amoah delivered this statement at the 5th Executive Breakfast Meeting on WASH, which was hosted by World Vision Ghana on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at the Alisa Hotel in Accra.

The Director-General of the NDPC who chaired the breakfast meeting, noted that safe water, proper sanitation, and good hygiene are not simply social amenities; they are essential investments in human capital, productivity, and resilience.

For Ghana, she pointed out that advancing WASH is both a development necessity and a moral imperative; without it, no community can thrive and no nation can sustain progress.

"Today, sanitation is rightly receiving greater prominence within Ghana’s local governance architecture. 

"The decision to incorporate sanitation indicators into the performance assessments of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) and also into the performance contracts of MMDAs reflects an important recognition that sanitation outcomes are directly linked to leadership, accountability, and effective service delivery," Dr. Amoah stated.

According to her, this initiative also signals a broader understanding that achieving national WASH objectives requires strong local ownership, coordinated action among relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies, and measurable results that improve the well-being of citizens.

Furthermore, Dr. Amoah pointed out that the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) utilisation guidelines have ring‑fenced 20 percent of allocations for WASH—10 percent for potable water and 10 percent for environmental sanitation.

According to her, this initiative also signals a broader understanding that achieving national WASH objectives requires strong local ownership, coordinated action among relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, and measurable results that improve the well-being of citizens.

Furthermore, Dr. Amoah pointed out that the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) Utilisation Guidelines have ring-fenced 20 percent of allocations for WASH—10 percent for potable water and 10 percent for environmental sanitation. 

She noted that this dedicated financing is designed to eradicate water poverty, expand safe drinking water access in rural and marginalized communities, and accelerate progress toward achieving Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, while closing persistent public health and waste management gaps.She stressed that the question is how to translate this momentum into measurable results. 

She stated that this operational milestone provides real hope for the effective implementation of WASH priorities embedded in all MMDAs’ Medium‑term Development Plans (2026–2029).

These plans are based on the Resetting-Ghana Agenda: Creating Jobs, Ensuring Accountability, and Promoting Shared Prosperity, which strongly aligns with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the AU Agenda 2063 Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan.

Looking further ahead, she said the Ghana Infrastructure Plan (2018–2047) envisions transformative outcomes: 99 percent of households relying on piped water as their primary source, non‑revenue water reduced to 10 percent, and safe sanitation accessible to 95 percent of the population.Attaining Ghana’s ambitious WASH targets requires that persistent challenges be tackled collectively in the short, medium, and long terms.

 Dr. Amoah stated that these challenges include increasing rural-urban migration that strains infrastructure, high levels of non‑revenue water, open defecation, poor sanitation practices, weak enforcement of sanitation bylaws, climate‑related flooding, limited behavioral change, and capacity gaps at the local government level.

To guide these collective efforts, Dr. Amoah proposed five key priorities:

Elevate WASH as economic infrastructure: Water and sanitation must be treated not as social expenditures, but as productive assets central to industrialization, climate resilience, food systems, and energy transitions.

Move from fragmented approaches to integrated planning: Shared resources must become shared opportunities. 

Water, energy, food, ecosystems, and climate systems are deeply interconnected, and policies, investments, and institutions must reflect this reality.

Strengthen WASH reforms and enforce sanitation bylaws: Compliance and accountability are essential to ensure that investments translate into real improvements in service delivery and public health.

Scale up financing and partnerships: Innovative financing mechanisms, stronger private sector engagement, and sustained collaboration with civil society and development partners are needed to close gaps and sustain interventions.

Enhance monitoring and evaluation

Stakeholders must track progress rigorously, speak with one voice, and make evidence‑based results the foundation of the collective strategy.

Ultimately, she emphasized that how stakeholders prioritize, mobilize, and hold themselves accountable will determine whether Ghana achieves its WASH targets to secure a healthier and more resilient future for all citizens.

She expressed her sincere appreciation to World Vision and all partners for their tireless efforts in prioritizing WASH. This commitment continues to strengthen Ghana’s collective resolve to achieve its targets.

"As we deliberate in this 5th Executive Breakfast Conversation on Sanitation, it is my prayer and hope that the critical areas we discuss today will inspire us to accelerate the implementation of WASH components in our medium‑term development plans at both district and sector levels," she concluded.

"Together, let us ensure that safe water, adequate sanitation, and hygiene practices become the lived reality of every Ghanaian household—building healthier communities, stronger economies, and a more resilient nation," she concluded.