[ 2014-10-12 ]

Ministry Of Local Government Urged To Implement Sanitation By-Laws To Fight Cholera In Ghana
Public health expects, participants at a policy
research dialogue have blamed the Ministry of
Local Government and Rural Development for its
inability to ensure that sanitation bye – laws
in the country are enforced to bring an end to the
cholera epidemic in the country.

Participants noted that, for Ghana to win the war
against cholera,the bye - laws must be enforced to
punish people that will go contrary to serve as
deterrent to others.

This was made known at a monthly dialogue session
organized by DevelopmentChallenge which brought
together professionals in Public health, the
general public and other stakeholdersto find
everlasting solution to the cholera epidemic in
the country.

Currently, the country is trying to find solutions
to the cholera epidemic which has claimed about
110 lives, with a total of 12, 622 people infected
in seven regions.

Participants were of the view that it is the
responsibility of the local government to ensure
that Metropolitan, Municipal and District
Assemblies (MMDAs) enforce the sanitation bye –
laws to ensure that our environments are clean to
prevent any communicable diseases.

According to them the authorities must ensure that
all house owners provide toilet facilities in
their homes and those who refuse must be punish
appropriately.

A representative from the local government
ministry, HarriettaOsie Tutu said the ministry is
doing a lot to ensure that sanitation bye – laws
are implemented by the MMDAs.

She said since the outbreak of cholera, public
education has been intensified to educate the
general public on the disease.

She disclosed that very soon National Sanitation
Day will be launched so that communities will use
the day to engage in communal labor to clean their
environment.

HarriettaOsie Tutu noted that the fight against
cholera is a shared responsibility which the
citizenry has a role as well as the Ministry of
local government and rural development.

Public health specialist and a resource person at
the forum, Dr. Emmanuel Dotsi stated that a
research conducted since the outbreak of cholera
in the country indicated that sachet water sellers
and street food vendors are the people that cried
cholera to the people.

According to him, research has shown that the
water, the foods are not treated under good
hygienic conditions and the hands of the vendors
are contaminated before serving the general
public.

He called for a change in behavior towards
personal hygiene and has urged the general public
to desist from buying roadside foods because the
street vendors do not have enough water to wash
their hands thoroughly.

Dr. Mawuli Dzodzomenyo, a senior lecturer, School
of Public Health, Legon stated that communities in
the country are lacking basic toilet facilities
resulting in over 20 percent of Ghanaians
defecating openly.

This phenomenon, which is one of the major causes
of cholera outbreak in the country, according to
him, is worrying and must be stopped to save
lives.

He called for more toilet facilities to be built
in our various communities to put an end to the
open defecation and also provision water
facilities.

Development Challenge, organizers of dialogue is a
non – governmental organization that is focusing
on solving public problems using public research.

Alhaji Haruna Rashid Ibrahim, Executive Director,
Development Challenge said the monthly research
dialogue is aim at bringing people from academia,
the general public to sample different views in
solving problems facing the country.

He said his outfit has the technical people to
provide practical solutions to solve our
challenges and are also collaborating with
agencies and government for the implementation of
policies.

He disclosed that Development Challenge will hold
another dialogue on Ebola next month to help
educate the public on the deadly disease.

Source - Eric Joe Ayivi

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