The Water Crisis in Northern Region Ghana
Over 800,000 people in Ghana’s Northern Region lack access to safe drinking water. Most of the region lies within the tropical savanna belt that experiences long dry spells followed by hard seasonal rains. There are only a few year-round streams and groundwater is inaccessible. Rural villages rely on rainwater runoff that collects in big, stagnant ponds called “dugouts” during the rainy season. But the water in these dugouts is muddy and severely contaminated with bacteria and fecal matter, putting villagers, especially children, at risk for waterborne diseases. Clean water solutions rarely reach these places, and when they do, they are poorly maintained. Household water treatment products are too expensive for poor families, and lack of proper handling easily recontaminates the water.
A Simple, Low-Cost Water Treatment Model for Rural Villages
The startling reality is that villagers can easily treat the water that they do have with resources available locally. This is where Saha Global comes in. Since 2008, we have connected the poorest, most remote communities to simple, cost-effective water treatment technology so that families beyond the reach of costly solutions can access clean drinking water. In each village, we have trained women to start and sustain small water treatment centers so that their communities can have safe and affordable drinking water while women can earn supplemental income. There are currently 464 Saha clean water businesses which serve 138,816 people and are fraction of cost of drilling a borehole or well.