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Before Ghana became Independent from the colonial masters there were no open defecation, the Traditional Ruler of the Buru-Kazigu in the Kassena-Nankana West District of the Upper East Region, Kazigo Pe Parekuri Thomas Aluah, has said.

He said sanitary inspectors who paraded the communities ensured that there was nothing like open defecation.

The Chief said this at a training programme on Behaviour Change organized for Traditional Leaders at Paga.

The training programme organized by the Rural Initiatives for Self-Empowerment-Ghana (RISE-Ghana), an NGO and sponsored by UNICEF, attracted a number of traditional leaders made up of Queen mothers and Opinion leaders.

It was aimed at empowering the traditional leaders to positively influence certain negative and cultural behavior of the people that impede development.

The Traditional Ruler of Buru-Kazigu stressed the need for the re-visit of the sanitary inspectors’ days where the Inspectors undertook routine visits to communities to inspect their sanitary conditions and to punish offenders.

Whilst agreeing to support and ensure that the people ended open defecation in their respective communities, the traditional rulers also drummed home the need for the District Assembly to strictly enforce by-laws to ensure that all houses had toilet facilities.

Other major problems confronting the District, that the Stakeholders identified and pledged their commitment to help address, include the spate of child and forced marriages, the fallen standards of education, high malaria cases, delivery at home instead of health facilities and exclusive breastfeeding  of mothers.

Mr Awal Ahmed, the Executive Director of RISE-Ghana, urged the Chiefs to work hard to help address the problems in their respective communities and stressed that as the custodians of the people and   culture; they wielded much power and influence and could make positive impact for change.

He told the Stakeholders that per the 2016 District League Table by UNICEF and Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), the District performed poorly in the area of sanitation.

He said the score on sanitation was 1.4 per cent stressing that out of the 112 communities only two communities were declared Open Defecation Free.

In terms of skilled delivery, the District scored 57.7 per cent and 64.7 per cent for Education.

Mr Ahmed called on the people to help ensure early enrolment of children in schools, birth registration of babies as well as child protection by reducing child marriage, adding that, it was due to the magnitude of the problem that UNICEF through its Communication for Development and Child Protection programme generously supported the project to shift the focus from awareness raising to actual behavior change.

Mr Jacob Agusika, the District Health Promotion Officer of the Ghana Health Service, appealed to the stakeholders particularly the traditional rulers to lead the crusade to ensure the promotion of exclusive breast feeding, the practice of hand washing with soap under running water, promote malaria prevention through sleeping under long lasting insecticide nets, antenatal care and delivering at health facilities.

He told the stakeholders that the dangers associated with pregnant women delivering at home were very high and could lead to birth complications such as maternal and infant mortality.