Building Capacity for WASH Systems Strengthening
The first two days convened representatives from the District Planning Coordinating Unit, Environmental Health Department, SHEP (Ghana Education Service), District Health Directorate, Works Department, and Social Welfare and Community Development, alongside other key municipal actors. Participants explored the nine building blocks of sustainable WASH systems, including institutions, policy and legislation, finance, regulation, planning, monitoring, infrastructure, water resources management, and learning and adaptation.
These building blocks form the backbone of a holistic systems approach, enabling districts to move beyond project-based delivery towards coordinated, resilient and well managed WASH services. The sessions reinforced that sustainable WASH outcomes require more than infrastructure alone; they also depend on strong governance, clearly defined roles, long term financing, effective accountability mechanisms, and collaboration across sectors.
Participants also engaged with foundational concepts such as systems thinking, collective action, and the interconnections between water, sanitation, hygiene and service delivery chains, strengthening their ability to analyse challenges and identify entry points for systemic improvement.
Interactive Learning in Action
Through facilitated group exercises, district teams assessed the performance of their local WASH systems using IRC's Building Blocks Assessment Tool. Participants scored the relative strength of each building block and jointly identified priority gaps and opportunities for improvement. These participatory assessments provided a practical basis for district led WASH Systems Strengthening Action Planning, helping translate learning into actionable next steps.
To reinforce learning beyond the in-person sessions, participants were also introduced to the WASH Systems Academy online platform, enabling continued, self-paced learning and certification following successful completion of the course. At the close of the two-day session, two thirds of participants completed the course and obtained their certificates.
Empowering Service Providers Through Hands On O&M Training
The final day focused on facility service providers responsible for the daily operation and maintenance of WASH facilities in schools, CHPS compounds and communities. This session responded directly to the need to safeguard newly constructed infrastructure through improved local capacity and clearer O&M roles.
The practical training covered:
- Operation and maintenance (O&M) of water and sanitation assets
- Infrastructure management, distinguishing routine from major maintenance
- Hygiene systems strengthening and disease transmission pathways
- Applying systems thinking at community level to improve service reliability
Participants gained a clearer understanding of their responsibilities within the wider WASH system. As Veronica Ayi Bonte, Programme Manager at IRC Ghana, observed:
"How well we keep and maintain the existing projects is on all of us."
The training also reinforced the importance of community engagement, particularly around tariff setting and access agreements, to ensure fairness, clarity and long-term sustainability. These hands-on modules were tailored to the realities faced by service providers, equipping them with the skills and understanding required to keep facilities functional, safe and reliable over time.
A Step Forward for Sustainable WASH in Tano North
The blended WASH Academy Training is an important step towards strengthening district-level capacity, improving multi-stakeholder coordination and reinforcing accountability across the WASH sector. By equipping both service authorities and frontline providers with a shared understanding of systems and practical tools for improvement, the training provided a strong foundation for more reliable, inclusive and sustainable WASH services.
With continued collaboration and support from partners such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints, Tano North is well positioned to deliver sustainable WASH services that leave no one behind.