Global RightsShield 2026 Awards: GAMA-SWP Boss Ing. Dr George Asiedu honoured for Sanitation Leadership
Accra, Ghana — August 19, 2026: Human Rights Reporters Ghana (HRRG) has honoured the Coordinator of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area Sanitation and Water Project (GAMA-SWP), Ing. Dr. George Asiedu, with the HRRG Global RightsShield Award for Sanitation & Sustainable Cities Leadership.
The recognition celebrates Ing. Dr. Asiedu’s contribution to sanitation and water development, public health, community resilience, and sustainable urban development, while also acknowledging a documented 2023 intervention that resulted in the provision of a toilet facility for a teenage girl and her family in Gbegbeyise, in the Greater Accra Region.
The award was formally presented to Ing. Dr. Asiedu on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, following the inaugural presentation of the HRRG Global RightsShield Awards in Abuja, Nigeria.
He received the honour under Category 2 of the 2026 awards programme.
The inaugural awards were presented under the theme, “Championing Human Rights and Democratic Renewal,” during the 3rd Africa High-Level Civil Society Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Conference, held at the Abuja Continental Hotel in Abuja, Nigeria, from July 14 to 17, 2026.
A 2023 report that led to a sanitation intervention
A significant factor in HRRG’s decision to recognise Ing. Dr. Asiedu was his response to a 2023 public-interest report authored by Dr. Joseph Kobla Wemakor, Executive Director of HRRG and a human rights journalist.
In June 2023, Dr. Wemakor published an investigative report titled, “Living without a toilet at home: The traumatic tale of a 15-year-old typhoid fever patient.”
The report highlighted the plight of a teenage girl who was battling typhoid fever while living with her family in Gbegbeyise without a toilet facility.
Published by GhanaWeb and subsequently republished by other media platforms, the report drew attention to the family’s sanitation challenges and the implications for their health, privacy, and human dignity.
According to HRRG, the report subsequently came to the attention of GAMA-SWP.
Ing. Dr. Asiedu and his team recognised the family’s circumstances as requiring intervention, following which the project mobilised to address the sanitation challenge.
The intervention ultimately resulted in the provision of a toilet facility for the teenage girl and her family.
HRRG said documentary records relating to the original report and the subsequent intervention formed part of the evidence considered in its decision to recognise Ing. Dr. Asiedu.
For HRRG, the episode demonstrates the potential of public-interest journalism to bring neglected social challenges to public attention and create an avenue for institutional response.
“You did not just build a toilet; you helped restore dignity.”
Presenting the award, Dr. Joseph Kobla Wemakor commended Ing. Dr. Asiedu for responding to the plight of the teenage girl and her family after their circumstances were brought to public attention.
“Ing. Dr. George Asiedu, I want to sincerely commend you for what you did in 2023 when you came across our report on the plight of that 15-year-old girl battling typhoid and living with her family without a toilet facility.”
Dr. Wemakor noted that Ing. Dr. Asiedu could have simply read the report and moved on, but instead identified an opportunity within his mandate to make a difference.
“You did not simply read the story and move on. You saw a vulnerable family in distress and recognised that there was something within your mandate that you could do to change their situation. You acted, and that action made a real difference.”
Reflecting on the impact of the intervention, Dr. Wemakor described it as one of the most rewarding experiences of his career as a human rights journalist.
“For me, that intervention remains one of the most rewarding moments in my journey as a human rights journalist. I have written many stories, but there is something fundamentally different when a story does not end with publication—when it moves from the pages of a newspaper into action and ultimately changes the living conditions of a vulnerable family.”
He further emphasised the human significance of the intervention:
“You did not just build a toilet. You helped restore dignity. You helped reduce a health risk. You gave that family something many of us take for granted—the basic right to live in a safe and dignified environment.”
“That is why this recognition is deeply deserved,” Dr. Wemakor said.
When journalism, civil society and institutions come together
Dr. Wemakor also used the occasion to highlight the importance of collaboration among journalists, civil society organisations and public institutions in addressing challenges affecting vulnerable communities.
“The story of that young girl reminds us that journalists, civil society organisations and public institutions do not have to work in isolation.”
He continued:
“When journalism identifies a problem, when institutions are willing to listen, and when leaders are prepared to act, extraordinary things can happen.”
According to Dr. Wemakor, the intervention demonstrated what can be achieved when public-interest journalism is complemented by responsive institutional leadership.
“Your response showed us what is possible when those forces come together,” he added.
Recognition beyond professional credentials
HRRG said the award was not based solely on the 2023 sanitation intervention but also on Ing. Dr. Asiedu’s broader professional contribution to the water, sanitation, and hygiene sector.
As Coordinator of GAMA-SWP, Ing. Dr. Asiedu has been involved in initiatives focused on water supply, sanitation, hygiene, behavioural change and community resilience across urban and peri-urban communities.
According to HRRG, his professional career spans more than three decades of engineering and development experience.
He holds an Executive Master’s in Business Administration and is a globally certified Project Management Professional (PMP).
HRRG said GAMA-SWP has also received recognition for a number of development and engineering interventions, including the “Most Impactful WASH Project of the Decade” recognition by CONIWAS, an Engineering Excellence Award from the Ghana Institution of Engineering, and recognition as 2nd Runner-Up Project Manager of the Year by the Ghana Chapter of the Project Management Institute.
The organisation said these achievements, together with the documented 2023 intervention, demonstrate the breadth of Ing. Dr. Asiedu’s contribution to sanitation, water, and sustainable development.
Sanitation, health and human dignity
For HRRG, sanitation is not merely an infrastructure or development issue.
It is also a human dignity issue.
Access to safe water, adequate sanitation, and a healthy living environment has direct implications for the health, privacy, safety, and dignity of individuals and families.
The 2023 case involving the teenage girl illustrates this connection.
A sanitation challenge that could have remained largely invisible became a matter of public concern after the journalist’s report brought the family’s circumstances to wider attention.
Institutional action subsequently followed, resulting in the provision of a toilet facility for the family.
HRRG said the case illustrates the type of responsive leadership that the Global RightsShield Awards seek to celebrate—leadership that translates institutional responsibility into meaningful outcomes for individuals and communities.
HRRG Global RightsShield Awards
The HRRG Global RightsShield Awards were inaugurated in Abuja, Nigeria, in 2026 to recognise exceptional individuals and institutions whose leadership, service, and achievements contribute meaningfully to human rights, democratic governance, justice, civic freedoms, diplomacy, sustainable development, and human dignity across Africa and beyond.
The programme was initially launched as the HRRG Global RightsCon Awards before being rebranded as the HRRG Global RightsShield Awards as part of HRRG’s efforts to establish a stronger and independent identity for the international honours programme.
The 2026 awards were presented under the theme:
“Championing Human Rights and Democratic Renewal.”
Other inaugural honourees included H.E. John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana; H.E. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Prof. Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba; Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa; Ms. Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, Executive Director of Spaces for Change West Africa; Joshua Elikplim Adjei; Eminence Lead International LBG; and international digital rights organisation Access Now and its RightsCon Global Team.
HRRG’s commitment to impact-driven recognition
The recognition of Ing. Dr. George Asiedu reflects HRRG’s broader commitment to celebrating individuals and institutions whose work produces meaningful outcomes for society.
For HRRG, leadership should not be measured solely by titles, professional credentials, or institutional positions.
It should also be measured by the difference that leadership makes in the lives of people and communities.
The 2023 sanitation intervention provides a practical example of that philosophy.
A journalist identified and reported a problem.
The media gave the issue visibility.
An institution listened.
A response followed.
And a vulnerable family gained access to a basic facility that contributed to a safer and more dignified living environment.
That is the kind of human-centered impact that HRRG believes deserves recognition.
About Human Rights Reporters Ghana
Human Rights Reporters Ghana (HRRG) is a Ghanaian human rights and media-focused civil society organisation committed to advancing human dignity, social justice, democratic accountability, civic participation, and sustainable development through advocacy, journalism, research, capacity building, access to justice, and strategic partnerships in Ghana, across Africa, and beyond.
Through the HRRG Global RightsShield Awards, HRRG seeks to provide an international platform for recognising exceptional leadership, service, and transformative contributions to humanity.
The recognition of Ing. Dr. George Asiedu underscores HRRG’s belief that meaningful leadership is ultimately measured not only by professional achievements but also by the positive difference such leadership makes in people’s lives.
Watch the award winning documentary video here:
