CONIWAS met the press at the International Press Centre in Accra on Wednesday, 6th August, 2008 to share with them the opinion of the wider stakeholder group at this year’s Mole XIX conference. Mole Conference is an annual event organized by CONIWAS for stakeholders in the Water and Sanitation Sector to deliberate on issues of concern, share knowledge and look at the way forward. This year’s event took place in Koforidua from the 8th - 12th of July 2008. The theme for this year’s conference was: “Reaching the MDGs for Sanitation: Options to Expand and Accelerate Coverage”. Briefing the press, Lorretta Roberts on behalf of CONIWAS stated that participants at this year’s conference acknowledged the fact that Ghana is facing a sanitation crisis that needs to be resolved as a matter of urgency through resolute and consistent actions. They also noted that 2008, the UN declared International Year of Sanitation (IYS), is soon coming to an end with Ghana showing little evidence of making appreciable headway in sanitation situation. The International Year of Sanitation was intended, as a unique opportunity, for countries with low sanitation coverage to accelerate their efforts and to enhance their success at improving sanitation and the overall quality of life for their people. This, according to the briefing, is the opportunity for improvement Ghana is missing this year. According to Lorretta, the latest official statistics published by the Joint Monitoring Platform (JMP), Ghana’s sanitation coverage stood at 10% as at the end of 2006. This implies that only 10% of Ghanaians have access to an improved latrine for defecation, among others. At the 10% coverage rate, Ghana ranks number 48 in Africa, out of 52 countries reported and number 14 out of 15 countries, beating only Niger to the last position. This clearly reflects a national crisis as Poor sanitation impacts negatively on human dignity, causes misery, impedes productivity, strains our health-care system and consigns millions of people into abject poverty. The sustainable development of Ghana or any country for that matter hinges on improved sanitation. Emmanuel Addai briefed the media on the Water and Sanitation Sector Monitoring Platform (WSMP) compiled statistics on access to latrines in Ghana. Present at the press briefing included, among others Mr. Demedeme, the Director of Environmental Health and Sanitation Division of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment (MLGRDE); Lorretta Roberts of Plan Ghana; Yaw Sarkodie (WSMP); Dr. Doris Dartey of OrgComInsight and other sector players. There was some level of media interaction and the media was called on to take up the crusade. The press briefing did not only highlight concerns about the sanitation situation in the country but also made suggestions for the way forward for government, the media and for individuals.