In a bid to create room for the improvement of the sanitation aspect in the country the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation with the support of UNICEF has organized a High Level meeting on Safely Managed Sanitation for Sierra Leone held at the Radisson Blu Hotel Aberdeen in Freetown.

Giving her keynote address the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation Dr Sao-Kpato Hannah Isata Macarthy mentioned that the concept of Safety Managed Sanitation is an indication of the SDG 6 and should not only be engrained in our programs and initiatives but should take prominence in the delivery of sanitation and hygiene services by government and non-state actors.

She revealed that to drive this the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation will provide policy guidance and leadership to institutionalize SMS in the sanitation framework to build a more resilient WASH system for provision of targeted and integrated services.

The Minister pointed out that government is committed and strong with the political will to accelerate attainment of the SDG 6 as President Julius Bio recognizing the nexus between Water and Sanitation with a comprehensive mandate to provide leadership for WASH.

In his remarks the UNICEF Representative in Sierra Leone Rudolf Schwenk mentioned that the Sustainable Development Goal 6.2 highlights that increasing the proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services and hand washing facilities with soap and water, requires the government to put all resources together with effing coordination mechanisms i.e regulations, policies, personnel, and funding.

He said the data also shows us that sanitation has been left behind as the percentage of population practicing open defecation increased from 17 percent in 2017 to 25 percent in 2022.

Presentions were done by Various Activities from this sector whilst the Senior Permanent Secretary for the ministry made a brilliant presentation on the introduction to Sierra Leone latest policy initiatives and importance and relevance of recent development