Member Spotlight: Julius Jebuni – Advancing Water, Sanitation, and Gender Equality in Ghana
Access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) continues to disproportionately impact women and girls, particularly in rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. In communities like Ghana’s Upper West Region, where over 80% of households lack nearby access to clean drinking water, the daily responsibility of water collection often falls on women and girls—limiting educational opportunities, increasing safety risks, and reinforcing gender inequalities.
Growing up in this region, GoHelp member Julius Jebuni witnessed these challenges firsthand. “After school, women and girls always fetched water, and I would go play football with my friends. I did not know at the time how gender-specific household chores affected their studies. When they slept in class due to being tired, or got bad grades, parents would blame them.” Motivated by these experiences, Julius pursued graduate studies in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo, where his research focused on women’s empowerment through WASH and Ghana’s Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) program. His work highlighted the ways cash transfers, paired with access to water and sanitation, improved women’s roles in household decision-making and strengthened their health and well-being—especially in the wake of COVID-19.
Julius’s research underscores the vital link between Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Clean Water and Sanitation and SDG 5: Gender Equality. His findings emphasize that improving water access is not only about infrastructure but also about creating safer, more equitable opportunities for women and girls.
As he begins his PhD in Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen’s University, Julius is committed to continuing his exploration of the connections between environment, health, and gender equality. His work serves as a powerful reminder of how local experiences can inspire global change.