Michael Aboah

Water pollution poses risks to health and livelihoods of communities that depend on river systems. The major rivers in Ghana have experienced significant pollution, but limited studies have examined water quality conditions and community perceptions of pollution sources. This study assessed water quality and community perceptions of major rivers in Ghana. Water samples from 6 major rivers were analysed for physical, chemical, and biological parameters based on APHA Standard Methods for Water Examination (22nd Edition). A survey was conducted on 400 residents using a stratified random sampling technique. ANOVA, Pearson correlation, PCA, and regression were employed to process the data. Analysis revealed arsenic (0.58-0.67 mg/L), lead (0.66-0.95 mg/L), mercury (0.10-0.14 mg/L), and E. coli (up to 1349.75 MPN/100 mL) concentrations. Nitrate increased from 15.12 mg/L upstream to 19.06 mg/L downstream, while E. coli was high midstream (1349.75 MPN/100 mL). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) identified arsenic, lead and mercury as major contributors to overall water pollution. Age, Education level, and gender influence pollution perceptions ( R ² = .654-.69). Mining activities (59%) dominated water pollution compared to industrial discharges, agricultural runoff, and domestic sewage. Effective strategies identified included stricter regulations (97.14%), sustainable farming (97.14%), and community campaigns (95.71%). Findings revealed that river pollution contributes significantly to economic, health, and psychological issues. Public awareness and demographic characteristics shape pollution perception, behaviour and policy responses. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, and the Water Resources Commission (WRC) should prioritise stricter regulations, sustainable practices, and community engagement to protect rivers in Ghana.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) levels have been shown to have impacts on health. However, the knowledge of WASH levels in war-prone West African countries is limited. The study extracted data (2015-2021) from the Joint Monitoring Programme (WHO/UNICEF), World Bank and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) to estimate WASH levels in the study countries. Pearson correlation analysis was used to establish the association among the WASH levels. Results showed that women had better access to safe water (56.39%), good sanitation (59.36%) and good hygiene (60.23%) compared to men. The urban population had better access to safe water (57.60%), good sanitation (61.23%), and good hygiene (65.65%) than the rural population. Among the countries under study, Nigeria had the highest access to safe water (36.10%) and good sanitation (24.41%), while Mali had the highest access to good hygiene (27.93%). Pearson correlation analysis showed a strong positive association between safe water and good hygiene ( r = .998), safe water and sanitation ( r = .996) and hygiene and sanitation ( r = .998) at .00 significant levels. Based on the findings, it is recommended that integrated WASH programmes with combined infrastructure development, behaviour change campaigns and community engagement should be encouraged to ensure peaceful and sustainable access to WASH levels.

Water quality improvement, sanitation, and hygiene have been demonstrated to have positive impacts on health, social, and economic development. However, global understanding of water quality, sanitation, and hygiene is limited. The study extracted data from the Joint Monitoring Programme (WHO/UNICEF) and the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) to estimate global water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) levels. Statistical tools of univariate and multivariate analyses were used to process global access to WASH. Results show that men (53%) had access to safe water compared to women. Women (67%), on the other hand, demonstrated better hygiene practices than men (33%). In addition, adults had access to safe water compared to children, the elderly, and strangers. Globally, there is low water quality in landlock developing countries compared to small island developing states. The categorisation of countries into economic states of low, upper-middle, and high-income countries directly affects water quality, sanitation, and hygiene. Continentally, Africa recorded the least water quality, sanitation, and hygiene levels. Thus, African countries must learn from the best practice in governmental policies and management systems from other continents regarding water improvement, sanitation, and hygiene.