A QUANTITATIVE APPROACH TO PREDICT ... - SuSanA

1. Introduction
Issues concerning hygiene, solid and liquid wastes disposal are very crucial in every
society. These concepts come under a broader umbrella called sanitation which is
defined as “a process whereby people demand, effect, and sustain a hygienic and
healthy environment for themselves by erecting barriers to prevent the transmission of
disease agents”. 1 In that sense, sanitation is seen as a basis for healthy life of people in a
society. Despite the fact that it is a basic need, many people find it difficult to have
access it. Ghana like many developing countries, face a lot of challenges when it comes
to sanitation which add up to the 2.6 million people worldwide without access to this
basic need. 2 Sanitation related diseases have been a major cause of death in Ghana
which calls for immediate intervention from all angles to ensure quality life. Ecological
sanitation (ecosan) which is about re-use of wastes, introduced in the country as one
way to help face these challenges needs thorough research to know how far people
accept it for appropriate measures to be taken.
1.1. Problem statement and Justification
One negative implication of urbanisation in Ghana is poor sanitation due to the
overburdening of the capacity of available facilities in relation to the number of people. 3
The population of Ghana for 2007 was estimated to be 22.4 million with an inter-census
population growth rate of 2.7%. 4 44% of the population were estimated in 2000 to be
living in the urban areas and only 40% of them were having modest sanitation service
coverage. 5 The urbanization has mainly been due to the concentration of industries,
businesses, education and administrative functions in some part of the country. As
people concentrate in the urban areas without sanitation facilities, they are compelled to
dispose wastes anywhere. In situations where some facilities and waste management
systems are provided, the large volumes of wastes generated make them inadequate.
This ends up with negative effects on the health of the people. In Accra for example,
sanitation-related diseases like diarrhoea, intestinal worms and cholera were recorded as
the highest causes of death in 2005. 6 This is because most of the wastes end up in the
lagoons, rivers and streams and moreover, people use inappropriate places like gutters,
1 Pfohl, Jake, 1997, p. 2.
2 Sustainable Sanitation Alliance, 2008, p. 1.
3 De Silva, 2007, p.31, who quoted from Allan, 1997
4 Ghana Statistical service, 2008, pp.8-10
5 Larbi, Eugene, 2006, p. 2.
6 Morbidity for Accra Metropolitan Assembly
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