Sanitation System Solution for Kotoko Community in Suame (Kumasi), Ghana

Authors

  • Roland S. Kabange Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Kumasi Polytechnic, P. O. Box 854, Kumasi, Ghana
  • Jay Graham Global Health Program & Milken Institute of Public Health, 950 New Hamsphire Avenue, NW Suite 400, Washington, DC 20052
  • Andrews Nkansah Department of Energy & Environmental Engineering, University of Energy & Natural Resources, Box 214, Sunyani, Ghana

Keywords:

sanitation solution, cost-effective, research community, planning framework, sharing sanitation facilities.

Abstract

Decades of poor sanitation coverage in developing countries suggest that conventional top-down approaches are not doing well and alternatives are needed.  Few sets of comparative sanitation systems costs exist, particularly costs related to sanitation facilities sharing.  With current little experience pulling a wide range of factors together for good quality sanitation planning and selection, this research explored and evaluated the interrelationship between socio-cultural, economic and technical issues in sanitation planning with sanitation facilities sharing as basis for cost comparison.  A community-level framework was then developed to inform sustainable and acceptable sanitation system selection process for a low-income high-density predominantly Muslim multi-ethnic peri-urban settlement of about 2,200 inhabitants in Kumasi (Ghana).  The methodology initially combined published literature and experts’ views analysis to determine three preferred sanitation systems.  The three preferred sanitation systems (pour-flush latrine, ventilated improved pit latrine and simplified sewerage) were costed and analysed, then cost compared on facilities sharing basis, and finally evaluated for solution.  The research revealed that simplified sewerage (SS) was the likely most cost-effective sanitation solution at a sharing of seven households per flush toilet.  Simple sensitivity analysis found that if energy and materials price fluctuations were likely, SS was the least sensitive – a confirmation that it was the preferred future sanitation solution under inflation.

 “Realistic-equal-cost-point” sensitivity analysis model also confirmed SS cost-effectiveness under inflationary conditions.  The change in assumptions for price sensitivity analysis did not therefore affect the overall recommendations.  The research concluded that SS was the first choice sanitation solution for Ghana’s densely-populated peri-urban Kotoko community at a sharing of seven households per flush toilet.  The proposed framework promoted the bottom-up community-based sanitation planning philosophy and supported current thinking on the subject, with users’ and experts’ views well-articulated and embedded in the framework, and addressed key sustainability elements that could be incorporated into current models.  The framework could thus be used by local authorities to gradually address the complexities of peri-urban sanitation challenges. 

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Published

2016-01-30

How to Cite

S. Kabange, R., Graham, J., & Nkansah, A. (2016). Sanitation System Solution for Kotoko Community in Suame (Kumasi), Ghana. American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences, 16(1), 19–54. Retrieved from https://asrjetsjournal.org/index.php/American_Scientific_Journal/article/view/1161

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