THE EFFECT OF INADEQUATE ACCESS TO POTABLE WATER ON THE HEALTH OF THE PEOPLE IN THE WA MUNICIPALITY OF GHANA

Abstract

Accessibility to safe drinking water is regarded as a fundamental human right since it is essential to preserving healthy livelihoods and the basic human dignity of all human beings. The study examined the effect of inadequate potable water supply on the health of the people in the Wa Municipality of Ghana. Findings of the study revealed that water related diseases are very common in the municipality due to the inadequate supply of potable water. About 55% of respondents, mentioned schistosomiasis as the top disease burden in the area. Again, the analysis of data on water provision and accessibility in the study suggested that most of the residents of the Municipality precisely 69.2% covered distances more than the standard distance of 1km stipulated by World Health Organization in search for potable water. The impacts of the time spent and distance traveled to acquire water in the Municipality were largely experienced by children and women, owing to the fact that in Ghana, water collection is considered to be the primary duty of children and women. Based on the findings the study recommends that more boreholes should be provided in the Wa Municipality to enable the residents have easy access to potable water supply. KEYWORDS: Ghana, Wa Municipality, Potable water accessibility.