Mohammod Irfan Co-authors New Study on Ghana’s WASH Sector
Mohammod Irfan, a senior scientist at the Pardee Institute, has co-authored a new research paper published in Water Security. The paper explores the current state of Ghana’s water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector. Using Pardee’s signature International Futures (IFs) tool, the paper examines various scenarios to determine the viability and implications of achieving targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and identifies a promising approach toward improvement of the WASH sector.
Titled The Past, Present, and Future of Ghana’s WASH Sector: An Explorative Analysis, the study finds that Ghana needs to invest an additional 1.3% to 1.5% of its GDP annually in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure to reach its SDG 6 target by 2030. While achieving 95% coverage by 2030 is feasible, the study projects that universal access to safe water and sanitation may not be achieved until mid-century.
IFs’ long-range global model provides country-specific representations of demographic, economic, and infrastructure systems, which allows researchers to examine the feasibility and impacts of achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6). SDG 6 calls for universal access to clean water and sanitation. To forecast Ghana’s ability to meet this target, the authors simulated various policy and development scenarios relating to “potential long-range WASH expansion pathways for Ghana.”
According to the study, Ghana must quadruple the annual increase in access to safe water services to meet SDG 6.1 by 2030. Ghana's path to achieving SDG 6.2 is even steeper, requiring an expansion of safe sanitation access to an additional 9-10% of the population each year. A more feasible path to achieving SDG 6 involves prioritizing the eradication of open defecation and the use of unsafe drinking water, particularly in rural communities and urban slums.
According to the authors, improving WASH access can lead to significant health benefits, including an 8-10% annual decrease in infant mortality and a 12-15% annual reduction in deaths from diarrheal diseases. The economic benefits of improved WASH access are substantial, with long-term GDP gains outweighing the costs of infrastructure investments.
This study highlights the importance of targeted policies and investments that address the most pressing needs while fostering sustainable progress. By simulating the long-term effects of different strategies, the IFs model provides data-driven insights into the potential outcomes of various approaches.
Other named authors include Thelma Z. Abu, Meshack Achore, Ibrahim Musah, and Tanko Yussif Azzika.
The full article can be accessed on ScienceDirect.
