Counsellor of Development Canada, Dr. Cheryl Gopaul-Saikali has outlined three expectations development partners in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector require to achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on Sanitation. One of such indicators, to her, was bringing information from the field to the national level for inclusive discussion, adding that it would support the up scaling of sanitation. She noted that documentation and sharing lessons would also prevent repeating mistakes made while accelerating learning and skills. Mentioning further that government’s willingness to work in partnership with all stakeholders including NGOs, development partners, the media, civil society and private organisations would offer “a much needed wider platform for a catalytic role and a synergistic effect in achieving the goal for sanitation for all.” Addressing participants at the 40th National Level Learning Alliance Platform (NLLAP) in Accra last Thursday, Dr. Gopaul-Saikali explained that there were practical reasons for the adoption of Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) in small towns and urban communities as being done in Kenya, Zambia, India and currently in Ghana. It was on theme: “Implementing CLTS in Small Towns: Looking Back to Inform Our Way Forward”. Development partners such UNICEF, Plan Ghana, Development Canada, TREND are piloting CLTS in small towns and selected peri-urban communities in collaboration with the Ghana government and local partner organisations. She described many of these towns as being characterized with relatively large population, lack of space leading to congestion, insecurity of land tenure systems, lack of community cohesion among other challenges. Implementation of CLTS in small towns would require innovative approaches in mobilizing communities to be engaged and be included in making decisions. Without some of these methods, she maintained it would be difficult to attain the expected improvement in sanitation and Ghana may not meet the MDG target. Development partners such UNICEF, Plan Ghana, Development Canada, TREND are already piloting CLTS in small towns and selected peri-urban communities in collaboration with the Ghana government and local partner organisations. They believed that additional interventions like sanitation marketing were needed for the rural sanitation model and strategy developed by the Ministry of Local Government in Ghana. The model and strategy builds on the positive elements of CLTS. “The task at hand now is to share and discuss the information in the rural model and strategy for adoption and to disseminate the finding from the various pilots, share lessons and suitable practices, discuss and compare alternative ideas that will continue to provide guidance to government, stakeholders on the implementation of CLTS,” the Development Counsellor pointed out. On behalf of the Development Partners, Dr. Gopaul-Saikali urged everyone to prove their experiences and reflect on how “we as CLTS implementers can learn, can adapt, can adjust as we go through this process.” The NORST support NORST, according to Dr. Andrew Livingston, is a support package from the Government of Canada to the Government of Ghana to enable it proceed with implementing decentralized water and sanitation delivery services. It started between 2008 and 2009, he said. The said package includes financial and some technical support to the tune of $30 million. More than half of that money, Dr. Livingston continued, was aimed at procurement, which was channeled through the government, managed by an investment committee within the Ministries of Local Government, Water Resources and Finance while procurement was done by the Districts. NORST involves 13 District Assemblies on the eastern side of the Northern region, seven government agencies supporting districts in WASH. It is expected to cover about 20 towns and 150,000 people have been targeted to benefit from this support. CLTS Focal Person in the Northern region, Martha Tia-Adjei who shared some lessons on piloting CLTS in small towns said her outfit formed a regional stakeholders group and conducted refresher training for the facilitation team. They promoted household latrines and supported extreme activities in the communities. Challenges during the piloting According to her, the piloting came with such challenges as inadequate support from District Assembly officials, conflict in the Bincherentanga community, lack of resources, limited space to construct latrines and the rocky nature of the ground. Outcome She, however, disclosed that a few household latrines were constructed and currently in use. Way forward Moving forward, Mrs. Tia-Adjei expressed the need to create a sanitation market, provide micro credit facilities to the communities, hands-on training of community based latrines and using lessons learnt to influence policy and programme changes.Nathaniel YanksonGlobal News Reel