President John Dramani Mahama has called for a coordinated and sustained national action to tackle Ghana’s long-standing sanitation challenges, as he formally relaunched the National Sanitation Day initiative.
Speaking at the launch event on Saturday, September 6, President Mahama stressed that cleanliness and environmental health must be treated as a national priority, not only for the wellbeing of citizens but also for the dignity and image of the country.
“It is, therefore, incumbent upon us to prioritise and address these issues with untiring resolve with a coordinated, sustained and collective effort to confront these challenges head-on to keep our cities and towns clean,” the President said.
The revival of National Sanitation Day forms a central part of President Mahama’s broader “Clean Up Ghana” agenda, which he described as a comprehensive national movement to instil a culture of cleanliness and civic responsibility across all regions.
According to him, the initiative is being rolled out through the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Religious Affairs, and will see citizens across the country actively participate in monthly clean-up exercises, held on the first Saturday of every month.
“This initiative aims to foster a culture of environmental responsibility, improve public health and enhance the aesthetic beauty of our cities and communities,” he said.
He emphasised that solving Ghana’s sanitation crisis would require more than government policy; it would need the active participation of every Ghanaian, from households to community leaders, religious institutions, local authorities and the private sector.
“Environmental responsibility must become part of our national character,” he added.
The campaign, he noted, dovetails with other environmentally focused programmes, including the Blue Water River Guards to protect Ghana’s rivers from illegal mining, and the Tree for Life Restoration to tackle deforestation and climate change through afforestation.