The evolution of rural sanitation approaches in Ghana

Over the MDG period Ghana made little progress on rural sanitation. Between 2000 and 2015 the proportion of the rural population openly defecating only fell slightly from 32% to 31%; in the context of Ghana’s rapid population growth this means there was a large rise in the number of people openly defecating across the period. This paper summaries the current approaches taken in the Rural Sanitation Sub-sector in Ghana, and the evaluation of these approaches over time. The results are based on a series of interviews with key sector actors. The review highlights the modification of approaches over time in response to challenges and concludes by presenting some of the key remaining challenges facing the sector.