The Municipal Environmental Health Officer (MEHO) for the Ayawaso North Municipal Assembly in the Greater Accra Region, Richard Donkor, has called for thorough disinfection and disinfestation exercises following recent floods to prevent the outbreak and spread of diseases.
According to him, floodwaters often flow through heavily contaminated areas such as public toilets, septic tanks, drains, dumping sites and other waste facilities before entering communities. This can expose residents to harmful microorganisms and other public health risks.
Mr. Donkor made the call while speaking to journalists during a disinfection and disinfestation exercise organised by Zoomlion Ghana Limited at Accra New Town. The initiative is being carried out in collaboration with Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) across the Greater Accra Region.
The exercise forms part of a wider programme to disinfect areas affected by the recent floods and reduce the spread of disease-causing organisms, flies, mosquitoes and other disease vectors.
Mr. Donkor stressed that floodwater should not be treated as ordinary wastewater because it may contain high levels of pollutants and disease-causing organisms.
At the Five-Five Public Toilet at Accra New Town, he said the exercise was timely because it would help eliminate harmful microorganisms that may have been transported by the floodwaters.
“This is to make sure that we take care of all pathogenic organisms that came along with the flooding that we had a couple of weeks ago,” he said.
Although he admitted that the exercise could have been conducted earlier, Mr. Donkor said carrying it out at this stage was still important in protecting residents from potential health threats.
“I must admit that even though it is late, better late than never,” he said, while commending the Presidency and Zoomlion Ghana Limited for supporting the initiative.
He also praised media organisations for helping to promote sanitation, public health and environmental safety, emphasising that maintaining proper sanitation requires the collective efforts of all stakeholders.
The Zoomlion teams carried out disinfection and disinfestation at several public and institutional facilities across parts of Greater Accra. These included the Five-Five Public Toilet at Accra New Town, facilities belonging to the Ghana Health Service, Ghana Ambulance Service and Ghana Education Service at Mamobi, as well as selected dumping sites and sanitation facilities.
Other locations covered included the La Bawleshie dumpsite, the Gbegbeyisie cluster of schools at Dansoman, the Glefe unauthorised dumpsite and parts of Sowutuom in the Ga Central Municipality.
Mr. Donkor urged residents and managers of public facilities to support such interventions by maintaining good sanitation practices and properly managing waste and other materials that could become breeding grounds for mosquitoes, flies and other disease vectors.
By: Prince Martey-Sogar