Government has launched a Social Behaviour Change campaign to mitigate flooding in the Odaw Basin covering a significant section of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area.

It is under a solid waste and flood risk management project called the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) project aimed at addressing flooding in the national capital.

Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye, Minister, Works and Housing Ministry, said the campaign would involve series of activities in communities, basic schools, market centres, religious centres and lorry terminals along the Odaw catchment area.

He said this during the launch of the project, which would be implemented by the Ministries of Works and Housing, Sanitation and Water Resources and Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development.

The Minister said it was part of Government’s flood mitigation measures and that a contract for performance-based dredging of the Odaw River Basin under the GARID project would be signed in the coming weeks.

The Minister charged the Assemblies to sanction violators of sanitation bye-laws and building regulations without fear or favour.

Mrs Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Minister, Sanitation and Water Resources, said she was satisfied with the improvement of sanitation in the country after the launch of the sanitation campaign in 2017.

“Since 2017, through sensitisation, people are observing good sanitation practices, we haven’t had any outbreak of cholera and we hope to keep this achievement year on,” she said.

“Currently, there is 59 per cent of homes with household toilets as compared to a survey conducted in 2017, which recorded 33 per cent representing a 29 per cent increase, “she added.

Mrs Abena Dapaah said the government had invested massively towards achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal number six, which talks about clean water and sanitation for all.

“Access to basic drinking water in Ghana now is 87.7 per cent for urban areas and 74.4 per cent for rural areas signifying a 96.4 per cent basic access to water,” she said.

Nii Tetteh Adjabeng II, Chief of Adabraka, urged the public to make sanitation and cleanliness a priority, adding that citizens must be disciplined in managing their waste.

The Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) is a Government of Ghana Project financed from a World Bank Credit facility.

It is being implemented in 17 Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies in Accra by the three Ministries, with support from the Coordinating unit of the project.