Water and Sanitation
Water is an indispensable commodity in human life and contributes in the determination of the health status of the user population. The major sources of water used in the district are boreholes, hand-dug wells and rivers, streams and ponds. Hand-dug wells are the predominant source of water for the inhabitants of the district.   Below is a table showing the major sources of water supply and percentage of usage.

                                Source of Water

SOURCE	PERCENTAGE
Well	44.2
River	16.4
Bolehole	39.4
Total	100

Transportation
In all, the district has a total of 239.5 kilometres of feeder roads, which link the rural communities to the district capital. There is also the Kumasi-Cape  Coast- Takoradi first class road that passes through Assin Foso, the District capital. Generally,  the feeder road network in the district is mostly in poor condition.   Thus, making it very difficult to transport farm produce and industrial inputs from the villages and farms to the market centres.   The result is the high cost of foodstuff and the high incidence of post- harvest losses.

The Assin North District Assembly in collaboration with the Department of Feeder Roads have to ensure routine maintenance of the feeder roads that leads to the various production centres to enable the haulage of goods from the rural communities to the market centres.   By so doing, the poor farmer would be able to increase his/her wealth by selling more farm produce.

Post and Telecommunication
There is one Post Office at Assin Foso whilst Akonfudi,   Bereku, Praso have Postal Agencies.  The Post Office at Foso and the Postal Agencies are in deplorable state, under staffed and need rehabilitation. Telephone facilities like Areeba, Onetouch and Tigo exist in Foso and other part of the district and this is enhancing brisk business activities in the district. For a district to operate effectively as a system there is the need to put in place an effective and reliable communication system which could be used for the needed interaction among the various sectors to achieve a desired
result. The Assin North District has made effort to establish an internet cafe  in addition to the central Government’s proposed I.C.T programme in all districts in the country to bridge the global economy.

Energy
A socio-economic survey on selected households in the district revealed that there are five (5) types of energy used for various purposes such as cooking and lighting. The energy types include the following:
a.    Firewood
b.    Charcoal
c.    LPG
d.    Kerosene
e.    Electricity

Table 1.5 below shows the percentage of household energy use.

Table 1.5: Household Energy use in the Assin North District

TYPE OF ENERGY	PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLD USE
Firewood	76
Charcoal	44
LPG	46
Kerosine	40
Electricity	16

The analysis indicates that about 76% of the households use fuel wood for cooking, lighting and other domestic purposes. The rural poor who form the majority of the district population mostly use this type of fuel. The implication here is that if the use of fuel wood is not checked, it will eventually lead to the problem of environmental degradation The use of LPG and electricity are on the minimal since they are expensive and not easily accessible to the rural poor.   This implies that the low- income group who cannot afford the cost of LPG and electricity would continue to rely on fuel wood and charcoal thereby defeating the idea of conserving the forest species. The issue left to the district to tackle is the bridge between poverty reduction and environmental degradation. Another issue for the Assin North District Assembly to solve is how to provide energy to rural areas. This is deemed essential if rural industry is to be encouraged, and, if rural life styles are to be made more pleasant and endurable.

Summary Of Key Community Needs And Aspirations
The needs and aspirations of the people of Assin North are summarized below:

Private Sector Development
1     Provision of market structures
2.    Job opportunities
3.    Provision of credit facilities
4.    Improvement in rural housing
5.   Road improvement for easy accessibility to the urban centres 6.    Extension of telecommunication facilities
7.    Extension of electricity to communities

Human Resource Development
1.    Potable water supply
2.    Health facilities/personnel
3.    Provision of drains
4.    Toilet facilities
5.    Educational facilities and infrastructure
6.    Job for physically challenged
7.    Credit for rural women
8.    Training programmes for the physically challenged

Good Governance
1. Provision and rehabilitation of office accommodation for Town and Area Councils
2.  Preparation of a District Disaster Management Plan
3.  Ensuring sustainable environmental management.
4.  Ensure adequate security

A summary of the key demands of the Private Sector, NGOs and CBOs
are presented below.
1.    Provision of micro Credit Scheme
2.    Rehabilitation of roads
3.    Extension of telecommunication facilities

Human Resources Development
1.    Provision of potable water
2.    Provision of health services and equipment
3.    Provision and rehabilitation of school infrastructure.
4.    Provision of training centres for the vulnerable and the excluded
5.    Establishment of a credit scheme for the physically challenged.

Good Governance
1.    Ensuring sustainable environmental management
2.    Strengthening of security systems.