Update · NLAP
Stakeholders push for inclusive, sustainable water financing for last-mile communities
01 May 2025
Stakeholders in Ghana's Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector have renewed calls for tailored financing mechanisms to extend safe and affordable water services to the country's most remote and underserved communities. This…
Stakeholders in Ghana's Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector have renewed calls for tailored financing mechanisms to extend safe and affordable water services to the country's most remote and underserved communities.
This was the focus of the 106th National Level Learning Alliance Platform (NLLAP) held in Accra under the theme " Driving Access and Equity in Water: The Enabling Environment for Reaching Last-Mile Communities in Ghana ." The meeting was hosted by the Resource Centre Network in collaboration with Saha Global and the Ministry of Works, Housing, and Water Resources. The forum brought together government officials, development partners, private sector actors, and civil society organisations to discuss how to bridge the water access gap for "last-mile" communities, rural populations that remain geographically isolated and economically marginalised, often outside the reach of conventional infrastructure and services.
Madam Suzzy Abaidoo , a senior WASH officer at the Ministry of Works, Housing, and Water Resources, in her opening remarks, drew attention to the stark disparities experienced by these communities, recounting her visit to one such area where families live without electricity, proper roads, communication networks, or access to basic amenities. She warned that continuing with traditional approaches would only reinforce exclusion. " These people are not part of the system. No WhatsApp, no schools, no water. Therefore, business as usual will not work," she said . "We must develop intentional, tailor-made strategies if we are serious about leaving no one behind ." She commended Saha Global's women-led water service model in northern Ghana as an example of innovation grounded in community realities.
The model provides safe drinking water in areas where borehole drilling has proven unsuccessful and rainwater and dugouts remain the only sources. According to the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (2022), over two million Ghanaians in rural…
This was the focus of the 106th National Level Learning Alliance Platform (NLLAP) held in Accra under the theme " Driving Access and Equity in Water: The Enabling Environment for Reaching Last-Mile Communities in Ghana ." The meeting was hosted by the Resource Centre Network in collaboration with Saha Global and the Ministry of Works, Housing, and Water Resources. The forum brought together government officials, development partners, private sector actors, and civil society organisations to discuss how to bridge the water access gap for "last-mile" communities, rural populations that remain geographically isolated and economically marginalised, often outside the reach of conventional infrastructure and services.
Madam Suzzy Abaidoo , a senior WASH officer at the Ministry of Works, Housing, and Water Resources, in her opening remarks, drew attention to the stark disparities experienced by these communities, recounting her visit to one such area where families live without electricity, proper roads, communication networks, or access to basic amenities. She warned that continuing with traditional approaches would only reinforce exclusion. " These people are not part of the system. No WhatsApp, no schools, no water. Therefore, business as usual will not work," she said . "We must develop intentional, tailor-made strategies if we are serious about leaving no one behind ." She commended Saha Global's women-led water service model in northern Ghana as an example of innovation grounded in community realities.
The model provides safe drinking water in areas where borehole drilling has proven unsuccessful and rainwater and dugouts remain the only sources. According to the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (2022), over two million Ghanaians in rural…