The report provides a brief sanitation situation in Ghana, the processes through which sanitation related data or evidence are generated and how these are used to inform or influence policies. It focuses on the role of CSOs/NGOs in generating such evidence and the extent to which due process is followed to achieve this end. It opens with a background information on the sanitation sector, key stakeholders and their roles, the processes of generating data and policy formulations, the types of indicators necessary at various levels used to assess evidence and the various policy making platforms. The report further examines some of the key challenges affecting the major sanitation policy formulating and influencing processes and suggests ways of minimizing any negative effects. It describes various schemes instituted by both government and civil society organizations to promote sanitation and motivate MMDAs to prioritize sanitation programme of local government authorities. The role of CSOs/NGOs in formulating or influencing sanitation policies, the different platforms to influence policy and some of these outcomes have been highlighted. The report concludes that although CSOs/NGOs play a significant role, their involvement is largely limited to evidence generated from projects, and the meta-data related to this evidence production is not coordinated across civil society. Some of the indicators are disaggregated and not harmonized. This situation is inadequate and will have to be complemented by routine administrative data. The report recommends the need to develop agreed sets of indicators which should be channeled through government’s administrative data framework. It also suggests some important measures required of all actors including NGOs/CSOs in the evidence generation processes if they are to inform sanitation policy and to make desired-impact.
