FIDA Ghana Urges President to Declare State of Emergency on Galamsey
The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Ghana has urged President John Dramani Mahama to formally declare a state of emergency in areas ravaged by illegal mining, arguing that the environmental, health, and social toll of galamsey now demands extraordinary intervention.
In an open letter penned by FIDA President Gloria Ofori Boadu, the organization emphasized that while galamsey is not a contagious disease in the traditional sense, its destructive impacts on water bodies, fertile land, and people’s livelihoods are similarly insidious and cumulative. They contend that the nation’s women bear a disproportionate burden, particularly those who fetch water, farm, process agricultural products, trade in local markets, or work in the gold and food value chains.
FIDA noted that evidence—though largely anecdotal—points to adverse effects of heavy metal exposure, including risks to fertility, reproductive health, and the cognitive development of children. The group warned that mercury and cyanide contamination threaten not just individual well-being but national food security.
To address these challenges, FIDA laid out several demands. First, the organization called for the immediate repealing of Legislative Instrument 2462, which currently allows small-scale mining activities in forest reserves. They argue that such mining must be permanently banned in those zones. Second, FIDA is demanding that the government use its constitutional and internationally recognised right to water as justification to impose emergency powers over affected regions, referencing Article 33(5) of the 1992 Constitution and the United Nations’ recognition of the right to water.
Further, FIDA called on the Ministry of Health and its agencies to issue clear, nationwide guidance about how citizens can protect themselves from exposure to heavy metals—especially through food and drinking water. The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) was asked to be decisive: to identify, warn, recall, or destroy food or water products found to be contaminated. FIDA also urged the Ministry of Agriculture to conduct a comprehensive mapping of farming areas, highlight regions with elevated heavy metal levels, and provide public disclosure of associated health risks along with information on safe food production.
The call from FIDA adds to already growing pressure from religious bodies, civil society organizations, and community groups, many of whom have publicly challenged President Mahama to escalate the state’s response. Earlier, the President had rebuffed suggestions to declare a state of emergency, asserting that existing laws and powers have not yet been fully deployed in the fight against illegal mining. He also told civil society groups that he would not hesitate to declare emergency powers if advised to do so by the National Security Council.
FIDA’s intervention reflects deep concern about accelerating environmental degradation and human health risks, and signals increasing momentum behind calls for more decisive, even drastic, state action. As dialogue intensifies around the galamsey crisis, stakeholders hope that the President will act swiftly to protect affected communities, water resources, and the nation’s ecological future.
