Cost-benefit analysis of fecal sludge treatment interventions in Ghana

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of excreta management processes across Ghana, both currently and from a historical perspective. We also conduct a cost-benefit analysis of several faecal sludge treatment technologies that could be deployed on a large scale across the country. The paper shows that all technologies examined – comprehensive treatment facilities, advanced stabilization ponds and resource recovery plants – would provide significant benefits with the potential to avoid 2-4 million cases of diarrhea and 300-600 associated deaths in the first year depending on the scale of implementation. Using cost data sourced from field investigations, we estimate the benefit-cost ratios for the investments between 3 and 6. These results are built on a number of assumptions and parameters, such as the reduction in disease and the ongoing operational profile of plants, the evidence for which is imprecise. Sensitivity analyses that account for some of this uncertainty show that benefits are still likely to exceed costs with a wider range between 2 an