Globally, sanitation has long been a troubling issue.  It is estimated that almost half of the world's population live without adequate sanitary provisions, and more children die through hygiene-related illnesses than almost any other cause. Furthermore, around 1.1 billion people in the developing world lack access to clean water.

In response to the slow progress being made toward the Millennium Development Goal of having the number of people worldwide living without basic levels of sanitation by 2015, the UN General Assembly declared 2008 as the "International Year of Sanitation.. 

Focus has been placed particularly on addressing the stigma attached to sanitation issues, as well as raising awareness of the health and economic benefits of better hygiene and sanitation. 

Sanitation has been defined variously to include measures to protect public health through proper solid waste disposal, sewerage disposal and cleanliness during food processing and preparation.

Another school of thought states that sanitation is sewerage and garbage collection and disposal: conditions or procedures related to the collection and disposal of sewerage and garbage.

The Oxford Advanced Learner?s Dictionary (6th edition) defines sanitation as the equipment and systems that keep places clean, especially by removing human waste disease resulting from poor sanitation.

In all these definitions what comes out clearly and for the purpose of this article are phrases such as ?measures to protect public health?,? conditions or procedures related to the collection and disposal of sewerage and garbage? ?equipment and systems that keep places clean? and ?removing human waste?. 

Ghana has prided itself as the first in sub-Sahara Africa to attain the status of nationhood 54 years ago, but it cannot say with the same pride that it has adequate equipment and systems to keep its immediate environments clean. Has Ghana put in place adequate measures to protect public health, to remove and dispose of sewerage and garbage? If yes, where are they? If no, what are the reasons and or who should be held responsible? 

Within Ghana, sanitation is an equally worrying issue, and the country was recently ranked in the three worst African nations for sanitation, coming in the top two in the West African region. 

Many of the causes of Ghana's low sanitation levels are clearly visible on a daily basis: litter clogs open drains, food is sold and prepared in close proximity to mounds of waste, and in open spaces, piles of rubbish are dumped, to be later burnt, or simply left to rot. 

According to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, in Accra, 1500-1800 tonnes of waste are generated each day, with only 1200 tonnes on average being collected.  Surplus waste therefore builds up, blocking drains and collecting in open areas.

The direct correlation between bad sanitation and disease is well known, and it is therefore not surprising that in 2007, diarrhoea was responsible for 425,250 outpatient deaths in Ghana, making the illness the fifth most common mortal ailment in the country. 

With the above, one would not hesitate but agree with me that sanitation is a core responsibility of all Ghanaians. It is sad that Ghanaians put all calamities that comes to them on God forgetting about their sanitation. It is a high time Ghanaians change their attitude toward sanitation and join the crusade of fighting filth, especially the indiscriminate disposal of waste, there will be no hope against the recurring cholera outbreak and other diarrhoea diseases and their attendant consequences.
Collectively, lets us put all hands on deck to maintain a healthy nation with a healthy population for increased productivity and national development.