CONIWAS demands the reactivation of the Water and Sanitation Sector Working Group, among others, after MOLE 37 Confab

The Ghana Coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS) has called on the government to urgently reactivate the Joint Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Sector Working Group, warning that its prolonged dormancy is stalling critical sector coordination and progress toward universal water and sanitation coverage.

The demand followed the 37th MOLE WASH Conference (MOLE XXXVII) in Ada Foah, themed “Accelerating Climate-Resilient WASH Service Delivery for Last-Mile Communities: Options, Strategies and Actions”.

CONIWAS Chairperson Dr. Beata Awinpoka Akanyani, addressing a section of the media in Accra on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, highlighted that the Joint WASH Sector Working Group has been dormant since January 2025, interrupting vital coordination with leadership.

CONIWAS outlined several strategic imperatives to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 6) targets: On the issue of statutory bodies and local oversight, the coalition urged Parliament to operationalize the National Sanitation Authority and Sanitation Fund, while boosting legislative oversight of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to ensure dedicated funds drive real-world projects.

For the formalization of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), CONIWAS demanded a formal framework to anchor ongoing collaboration between the state and civil society groups.

The 37th edition of the MOLE WASH Conference (MOLE XXXVII) data underscored the urgency, noting Ghana loses over $500 million annually to poor sanitation, 75% of households lack basic private toilets, and basic sanitation coverage is projected to reach only 39% by 2030 without accelerated action.

While acknowledging recent political commitments, CONIWAS stressed that immediate institutional reactivation and accountability are vital.

Below is an edited 37th MOLE WASH Conference (MOLE XXXVII) Communique

MOLE XXXVII WASH CONFERENCE COMMUNIQUÉ ISSUED AT THE END OF THE ANNUAL MOLE XXXVII WASH CONFERENCE ORGANISED BY THE COALITION OF NGOS IN WATER AND SANITATION (CONIWAS) AND PARTNERS FROM 1ST TO 6TH NOVEMBER 2026 AT AQUA SAFARI RESORT, ADA, GREATER ACCRA REGION.

THEME: “ACCELERATING CLIMATE-RESILIENT WASH SERVICE DELIVERY FOR LASTMILE COMMUNITIES: OPTIONS, STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS”

PREAMBLE

The Annual MOLE WASH Conference is a CSO-led multi-stakeholder platform for reviewing sector performance, influencing policies, removing barriers, and promoting access to sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene services.

The five-day Conference was formally opened by Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim, Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources (MWHWR). Solidarity messages were delivered by Development Partners Lead and the 2026/27 Child Sanitation Diplomat. The District Chief Executive for Ada East District and representatives of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Sanitation and Water

Resources were also present at the opening. The opening session of the conference was chaired by Nene Agudey Obichere III – Ada State Mankralo, Representative of the Paramount Chief of Ada Traditional Area, Djetse Nene Abram Kabu Akuaku III, Paramount Chief of the Ada Traditional Area. The theme address was delivered by Ing. Michael Forson, Technical Advisor (WASH), Office of the President.  Deliberations were structured around four sub-themes: (i) WASH as a Political Priority:

Leadership, Governance and Accountability; (ii) Sustainable and Innovative Financing for Reaching Last-Mile Communities; (iii) Inclusive Service Delivery Options and Innovations for Last Mile Communities; and (iv) Climate-Resilient WASH in Institutions and Public Spaces.

The MOLE XXXVII Conference was attended by one hundred and sixty-eight (168) participants drawn from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Development Partners (DPs), CSOs, NGOs, CBOs, FBOs, Academic and Research Institutions, the Private Sector, Traditional Authorities, and the Media.

Conference noted that, while Ghana has made steady progress in basic water coverage, last-mile communities, including rural, peri-urban, the urban poor and persons with disabilities, continue to bear the heaviest burden of service gaps and climate risk. Only about 17% of rural Ghanaians use safely managed drinking water, national basic sanitation coverage stands at about 32%, and 17.7% of the population still practise open defecation. Floods, droughts, coastal erosion and the pollution of raw water sources by irresponsible mining threaten to reverse hard-won gains.

Conference therefore affirmed that reaching last-mile communities with climate-resilient WASH services is a matter of both human rights and national development. It requires political priority, sustainable financing, inclusive service models and resilient institutions.

KEY COMMITMENTS AND RESOLUTIONS

At the close of deliberations, the Conference resolves as follows:

Call 1: Making WASH a Political Priority through effective Coordination. Conference commends the Ministry for Works, Housing and Water Resources (MWHWR) and the Ministry for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs (MLGCRA) for their leadership in supporting WASH programmes. Conference recognises the urgent need to reactivate the Water and Sanitation Sector Working Group (WSSWG), the highest coordination body for WASH in Ghana, which provides the platform for strategic decisions between Ministers and Development Partners. Conference calls on the MWHWR and the MLGCRA to jointly reconvene the WSSWG within the first half of 2027 and to hold regular meetings with published

outcomes, so that WASH remains a visible national priority.

CONIWAS Commitment: CONIWAS will support the reactivation and work of the WSSWG and engage the relevant Parliamentary Select Committee(s) between December 2026 and October 2027.

Call 2: Sustainable and Innovative Financing for the Sector

1. Public Financing for WASH: DACF, IGF and the GWASHSDP Conference commend the President of the Republic of Ghana, the Ministry of Finance, and the

MLGCRA for the allocation of at least 20% of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) to WASH at the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assembly (MMDA) level (10% for water and 10% for sanitation), and the commitment of US$1.7 billion per annum under the Ghana WASH Sector Development Programme (GWASHSDP), as captured in the Ghana WASH Compact of 2024. Conference reiterates its MOLE XXXVI call on the MLGCRA to ensure the timely and

predictable release of these funds and calls on MMDAs to fully utilise the allocations for WASH services, prioritising last-mile communities, and to publish annual reports on allocations, releases and expenditure. MMDAs are also encouraged to allocate at least 5% of their Internally Generated Funds (IGF) to WASH.

CONIWAS Commitment: CONIWAS will track DACF allocations, releases and utilisation for WASH in selected MMDAs, and engage strategically with the MWHWR, the MLGCRA, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and other relevant MDAs between December 2026 and October 2027.

1. Pro-Poor Connections: GWL Social Connection Fund

Conference commends Ghana Water Limited (GWL) for initiating a Social Connection Fund that removes the financial barriers preventing poor households from connecting to safe piped water services.

Conference recommends that the Fund be scaled up to reach low-income households in urban and peri-urban last-mile communities, under a transparent framework with clear eligibility criteria, aligned with national social protection targeting such as the Ghana National Household Registry (GNHR), hosted by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, to ensure that assistance reaches households that genuinely cannot afford connection charges.

CONIWAS Commitment: CONIWAS will support the design, monitoring and evaluation of the scaled-up Fund, including tracking its reach to poor and last-mile households, between December 2026 and October 2027.

17. Investment in, and Financial Viability of, Rural Water Services Conference noted with concern that only 17.2% of Ghana’s rural population has access to safely managed drinking water. Closing this gap will require significant investment that grants and concessional finance alone cannot provide, especially as grant resources continue to decline.

Conference therefore calls on Government to adopt a comprehensive rural water investment strategy that prioritises service coverage and functionality in last-mile communities; adopting a blended financing model for rural water infrastructure that mobilises the required investment and reduces over-reliance on grants, while keeping affordability for poor and last-mile households a

central consideration.

CONIWAS Commitment: CONIWAS will continue to support and track these efforts through evidence-based advocacy and strategic engagement between December 2026 and October 2027.

Call 3: Sector Regulation and Governance

The conference reiterates the urgent need, first raised at MOLE XXXVI, to strengthen the regulatory environment for water and sanitation service delivery at all levels, particularly in the rural water and sanitation sub-sectors. The MLGCRA, in collaboration with the MWHWR and relevant MDAs, should review, develop, and implement coordinated enforcement mechanisms for WASH services along the value chain. This should kick-start effective sector regulation through the enactment of

an Environmental Sanitation Bill, which will also establish a regulatory entity to oversee the activities of the different players in the sector. Ongoing work on the proposed Water Services Act should also be accelerated in the context of the ongoing rural water sub-sector reforms and the increasing activities of small-scale water enterprises. Sector regulation should be data-driven, evidence-based, and supported by academic and research institutions.

The conference calls for these measures to be in place by October 2027.

CONIWAS Commitment: CONIWAS will support this process with policy briefs and contribute to the review processes and the development of the regulatory framework for the WASH sector between December 2026 and October 2027.

Call 4: Climate-Resilient WASH for Last-Mile Communities Conference acknowledges Government’s leadership in finalising and rolling out Ghana’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs 3.0).

Conference recognises that floods, droughts, coastal erosion and saline intrusion are already damaging water sources and sanitation infrastructure and deepening the vulnerability of last-mile communities.

Conference therefore calls on the MWHWR, the MLGCRA and the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), working with the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), to: (i) ensure that the WASH adaptation actions in the NAP and NDCs 3.0 are costed and reflected in MMDA Medium-Term Development Plans and annual budgets; (ii) mainstream climate-risk screening, including water and sanitation safety planning, in the design, rehabilitation and management of WASH systems; and (iii) build a pipeline of bankable climate-resilient WASH projects to access climate finance for last-mile communities.

CONIWAS Commitment: CONIWAS will collaborate with the EPA, MLGCRA and MWHWR to build the capacity of member organisations on national climate policies, advocate for adaptation actions in district plans, partner with the EPA to monitor and track implementation of the NAP, and disseminate NDC 3.0 to its members between December 2026 and October 2027.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations emerged during Conference deliberations as critical areas requiring coordinated attention to accelerate progress in the WASH sector, particularly for last mile communities:

1. Professionalising Rural Water Service Delivery: The Conference acknowledges the persistent challenges in the sustainability, accountability, and equity of rural water supply systems and highlights the urgent need to professionalise rural water service delivery. Deliberations emphasised that transitioning from community-managed models to professional, performance-driven service frameworks is critical to ensuring sustainable, safe, and affordable water access for rural and peri-urban populations. This will not happen without effective dialogue and engagement with relevant stakeholders, particularly Small Water Enterprises (SWEs) and communities.

Conference urges the CWSA to be more open to, and invested in, these critical stakeholder engagements, and urges the MWHWR to strengthen service delivery structures and develop guidelines for private sector participation.

1. Equity and the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation

Conference welcomes the preparatory work towards the 2026 United Nations Water Conference (UNWC), to be held from 8 to 10 December 2026 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and urges Government to ensure that Ghana’s participation champions the needs of last-mile communities. CONIWAS will intensify advocacy on the post-UNWC outcomes to add impetus to the realisation of the human rights to water and sanitation and to ensure that equity principles are upheld by service providers at all levels.

1. Climate-Resilient WASH in Institutions and Public Spaces Conference recognises the poor state of WASH in public spaces such as markets, lorry parks and religious centres, and the weak operation and maintenance (O&M) of WASH facilities in institutions, notably healthcare facilities (HCFs) and schools. Only 16% of healthcare facilities in Ghana have basic sanitation services. Conference calls on MMDAs, working with the

Ghana Health Service, the Ghana Education Service, and traditional and religious leaders, to strictly enforce O&M guidelines, assign clear management responsibility and dedicated recurrent budgets for these facilities, and ensure that new and rehabilitated facilities are climate-resilient and accessible to women, girls and persons with disabilities.

1. Water Security and Protection of Water Resources

Ghana’s major rivers and freshwater bodies continue to be degraded by illegal and irresponsible mining (galamsey), despite the Government’s efforts to address the situation, raising water treatment costs and threatening the raw water sources on which both urban and last mile communities depend.

Conference commends the Water Resources Commission (WRC) for its strategic attention to watershed management in the White Volta and Black Volta Basins and recommends the expansion of watershed investment programmes to other river basins significantly threatened by natural resource extraction – such as irresponsible mining, deforestation and sand wining, alongside sustained enforcement against illegal mining in and around water bodies and forest reserves.

MONITORING, ACCOUNTABILITY AND FOLLOW-UP

CONIWAS, in collaboration with key stakeholders, shall track the implementation of this Communiqué using a results and accountability matrix that sets out, for each Call, the responsible institution, the expected action and the timeline.

• A six-month progress brief will be published by May 2027, ahead of MOLE XXXVIII, by the CONIWAS Secretariat in collaboration with the Technical Committee.
• The progress brief will also report on the status of the MOLE XXXVI (2025) resolutions, including the Environmental Sanitation Bill, DACF releases for WASH, monitoring of NAP, and action on illegal mining affecting water bodies.
• Sector actors are urged to align their annual institutional work plans with the outcomes of this Communiqué.
• A joint stakeholder dialogue will be convened before MOLE XXXVIII to assess implementation progress, showcase innovations, and update priorities.

Issued this Thursday, 5th November 2026, at Aqua Safari Resort, Big Ada, Greater Accra Region.

Signed by:

Dr. Beata Awinpoka Akanyani

Chairperson, CONIWAS.

By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH