MONROVIA, LIBERIA- Another World Water Day has come and gone, and WASH advocates continue to raise their voices to draw attention to challenges in the sector.

On Sunday, March 22, Liberia joined other countries in observance of World Water Day.

Government, through the National Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Commission, in collaboration with civil society organizations and other partners, has been initiating a series of activities, including awareness programs.

Appearing on ELBC Radio on Monday, March 23, WASH CSO Focal Person, Timothy Kpeh, called for actions from the government to ensure sufficient budget allocation for WASH and stressed the need for citizens’ involvement in sustaining critical WASH infrastructures.

Kpeh lauded efforts being made by the government to coordinate and expand WASH infrastructures, but pointed out that sustainability remains a serious problem.

“WASH is a citizen issue and not government,” Kpeh said, saying that the issue should claim the attention of all citizens and that every citizen should play their role.

The WASH CSO focal person also spoke of the need for investment in water quality testing infrastructure.

He said: “In Liberia, we have around 76 percent of the population having basic access, and when I say basic access, we are not even sure whether those waters are safe.”

Kpeh noted that the issue of water quality testing is a challenge across the country. He said safe drinking water is a challenge in the country.

“The challenge is glaring,” Kpeh lamented.

The WASH advocate also drew attention to the lack of toilet facilities in many homes and the lack of decent toilet facilities in public buildings, something he stressed should claim the attention of all.

He said that as Liberia joined the observance of another World Water Day, there is a need for all to rally around and raise awareness so that the issue of WASH can be given attention.

World Water Day, held on 22 March every year since 1993, is an annual United Nations Observance focusing on the importance of fresh water.

World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.1 billion people living without access to safe water. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis. A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.