This report, part of WSUP’s Urban Sanitation Research Initiative, explores the background to the urban sanitation sector in Ghana.
Summary of findings:
- Ghana is a fast-growing economy that has made notable progress in reducing poverty.
- Urban infrastructure has not kept pace with cities’ expansion and high levels of rural-urban migration.
- Only a fraction of urban residents use improved sanitation facilities as per the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) definition, but transport and treatment services are developing.
- Well-developed legal, policy, and strategy frameworks exist but need to be fully implemented.
- Sanitation has not been a public funding priority and households bear the bulk of the costs.
- From lack of prioritisation to insufficient demand and limited supply, barriers to developing pro-poor sanitation services remain significant.