Spending over 80,000 Ghana Cedis in tank donations to marginalized areas and groups, Polytank Ghana’s benevolence has impacted institutions such as the Ghana Prisons Service, the Ghana Police, some Fire Service stations, Educational institutions, International NGOs and rural communities, among others.

Being the lead producer of durable water storage tanks in Ghana, Polytank believes that access to clean water for all humans must be viewed as a right.

The company wants to ensure that the provision of clean water to ensure good health, proper sanitation and improved livelihoods is a daily reality.

It is therefore little wonder  that the words of Former UN Secretary-General Dr. Kofi Annan that “Access to safe water is a fundamental human need and therefore a basic human right” has been adopted by Polytank Ghana as its cardinal principle around which the company’s operations have revolved since its establishment about 25 years ago as a subsidiary of the Mohinani Group.

Executive Director of the Group, Mr. Ashok Mohinani, emphasized the Group’s commitment to assisting the government to meet the global climatic challenge of ensuring sustainable access to clean water as a way of giving back to the communities in which the company operate.

“Water is not just life but a basic human right which needs to be preserved and not wasted. Our business Group gives these storage tanks to people who have limited access to clean water in order to manage the little they have to consume,” he said.

“It is our hope that these gestures will go a long way to improve the health and general well-being of the beneficiaries. As we mark World Water Day today, we are happy to reiterate our company’s commitment to invest in quality and affordable water management products that will help ensure that more Ghanaians have improved access to clean water always no matter where you live”.

Touching on this year’s theme, “Nature For Water,” Mr. Mohinani encouraged all Ghanaians to desist from actions that have adverse effects on the country’s freshwater resources and pledged that the company will adopt more environmentally friendly methods in its operations.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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While the world’s population rapidly grows, availability of water and sanitation presents a different story, more significantly in rural communities.

The 2017 Joint Monitoring Program report by the World Health Organization and the UNICEF indicates that, about 2.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water at home, while 4.5 billion people lack safely managed sanitation.

In Ghana, just 27% of the population have access to safely managed water. According to water.org, about 18 million of the population still lack safely managed sanitation.

In order to bridge the gap, a collective effort is needed to help raise the standard of access to clean water and sanitation.

Helping achieve the United Nation’s Development Goal 6 to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”, Nestlé in partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), has provided water and sanitary facilities to some 17,355 people dwelling in rural communities in the Eastern and the Ashanti Regions of Ghana.

The project has provided 41 water points and 110 latrines in various communities.

Mr. Sampson Awuah, Assemblyman of Katapei, a farming community in the Ashanti Region sharing how the project has benefited his people said.

“The stream we depended on was not clean but we had no other option than to rely on it as our source of drinking water. The saddest part of the situation was that the stream dries up every harmattan season and this means the whole community is hit by serious shortage of Water. I would use this medium to thank Nestlé and Ghana Red Cross for coming to our aid”. Mr. Awuah urged other organizations to support deprived communities.

“Water is a human right and every individual is entitled to it. As we are marking World Water Day, we at Nestlé reflect on the fulfillment of our purpose of enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future through stewarding resources for future generations by providing access to clean water and sanitation for communities directly connected to our business”, said Mrs. Freda Duplan, Managing Director of Nestlé Ghana.

Inasmuch as providing access to clean water is critical, conservation is equally important.

In June 2016, Nestlé invested CHF 1.5 million in a Waste Water Treatment Plant at its Factory in Tema.

The facility has reduced water usage by 10% while 30% of recycled water is used for non-core activities. Also, effluents discharged into the environment meets standards and are not harmful to the environment.

The facility is gearing towards Nestlé’s 2030 ambition to “Go for Zero Environmental Impact in its operations”.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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WaterAid’s State of the World’s Water 2018: The Water Gap examines the countries in the world with the highest percentages and largest numbers of people who cannot get clean water within a half hour round trip, as well as those with the most progress, and demonstrates the sizeable gap between the rich and poor when it comes to access to water.

Ghana has 78% water coverage, according to the most recent UNICEF-WHO Joint Monitoring Programme figures.

Today, 844 million people globally do not have clean water, a number which has risen from last year.  This is in part because those who are not able to fetch water within a half hour round trip no longer count as having access to water, compounding pressures from urbanization, population growth, shock weather events and poor financing and prioritization of water supply.

The report comes as nations prepare for a July 2018 review of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 6, to deliver water and sanitation to everyone, everywhere by 2030.

Among the main findings, Eritrea, Papua New Guinea and Uganda, are the three countries with the lowest access to clean water close to their homes, with Uganda being a new addition to the list this year at 38% access.

Mozambique ranks fourth in the table of countries making greatest progress in water provision, but remains 10th in the world for lowest access to water. Its capital city, Maputo, is currently experiencing severe water shortages and is now preparing for rationing.

Almost every country struggling to provide its people with clean water also has a huge gap in access between richest and poorest.

For instance, in Niger, only 41% of the poorest people have access to water, while 72% of its wealthiest do. In neighbouring Mali, the gap widens to 45% and 93%, respectively. In Uganda, only 35% of the poorest have access to clean water close to home, while 72% of the wealthy do.

India, while still having the most people without clean water, is also near the top of the list for most people reached: more than 300 million between 2000 and 2015, or nearly equivalent to the population of the United States.

Abdul-Nashiru Mohammed, the Country Director of Ghana said “Cape Town is a wake-up call for all of us, reminding us that access to water, our most precious resource, is increasingly under threat. Those marginalised or living in a slum or remote rural community, are hardest to reach and will continue to suffer as long as governments do not prioritise and fund access to water for all.”

This World Water Day, WaterAid Ghana has thus called on the Government to support Nature Based Solutions (NBS).

Therefore, the organisation said there is an urgent need for the Government and all its MMDAs to do the following:

• Restore wetlands
• Reconnect rivers to flood plains
• Replenish forest and (protect all existing forests)
• Ensure buffers are maintained along rivers and streams
• Consider the use of sand dams in the one village one dam policy
• Ensure that various commitments made in addressing water issues in Ghana are fulfilled.

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Source: Water Aid

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