The Biodigester Construction Centre at the Ada College of Education (ADACOE) in the Greater Accra Region has graduated the first batch of 31 artisans who received training in biodigester construction and installation.
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During a one-week intensive training period, the all-male trainees received an introduction to bio-digester technology, types and principles of bio-digesters, effluent management, operations and maintenance, health, safety, and environmental considerations.
Additionally, the trainees received training in marketing, customer relations, user education for toilet users, and entrepreneurship. ADACOE held a graduation ceremony last Saturday (May 18), where the artisans, drawn from all parts of the country, received their certificates.
Quaranchie Adama-Tettey, the Behaviour Change Communication expert at the GAMA-SWP, joined Prof. Prince Boateng, the Principal of ADACOE, to present the certificates to the artisans.
They will serve as pioneers in the country’s quest to construct an estimated four million toilets to achieve United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Six: access to clean water and sanitation for all.
Background Context
The World Bank-funded GAMA-SWP, in partnership with the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and ADACOE, built the center to train artisans who will receive the necessary expertise and certification to build bio-digesters across the nation.
On March 11, ADACOE inaugurated the training center for the construction of bio-digester toilets. Only 25.3 percent of Ghanaians had access to improved, non-shared sanitation, according to the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC), while 17.7 percent continued to practice open defecation.
With the country’s current population exceeding 33 million, 24.7 million people lack access to improved sanitation facilities, while over 5.8 million defecate in the open.
Stakeholders in the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector have stated that more commitment to the establishment of WASH infrastructure is necessary for the country to stand a chance of achieving SDG 6.
Biodigester acceptance in Ghana
Mr. Adama-Tettey stated that the GAMA-SWP had increased the use of the bio-digester toilet option nationwide, making the training of the artisans a proactive initiative.
He said that out of the over 50,000 toilets provided by the project so far, 98 percent were bio-digesters.
Indeed, 57 percent of the country’s 130,251 bio-digester toilet facilities are in Greater Accra, 14.4 percent in the Central Region, 7.1 percent in the Eastern Region, 6.5 percent in Ashanti, and 14.5 percent in the other regions, according to the 2021 PHC data.
He added that the surge in the use and acceptance of bio-digester toilets across the country was largely due to their ease and simplicity to install, low maintenance costs, minimal construction space, environmental friendliness, and water conservation.
“It has, therefore, become the technology of choice for low-income dwellers who have constraints with space,” he said.
Good ambassadors?
For his part, Prof. Boateng urged the artisans to be good ambassadors of the GAMA-SWP and ADACOE. He said the artisans’ training was particularly important because it would help reduce open defecation and put the country on the right path to achieving SDG 6.
Again, he said the initiative would create employment opportunities for the youth and help tackle unemployment.
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