Ashaiman Assembly addresses sanitation challenges
The Municipal Chief Executive for Ashaiman, Albert Boakye Okyere, has disclosed that the municipality has not recorded any case of cholera in over five years as a result of interventions introduced by the assembly to tackle waste management.
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Mr Okyere disclosed to journalists on the sidelines of a health screening exercise organised for bakers in the municipality last Thursday. The exercise was organised by Olam Agri, an agri-food company, in partnership with the Greater Accra Regional Environmental Health Department.
The screening programme was designed to improve the well-being of bakers and ensure food safety within the communities they serve.
Apart from the screening, participants were educated on good hygiene practices to ensure that optimal food safety standards were maintained at their respective bakeries.
The bakers who participated in the screening were given certificates of fitness to handle food.
Poor sanitation
The MCE said one of the major challenges that confronted the municipality in the past was poor sanitation, adding that residents littered the roads and other open places with all manner of waste, including plastics and human excreta.
The unsanitary condition was seen as a threat to human lives as some residents had to resort to open defecation because of the poor state of the public toilet system in the municipality.
He said over some time, the assembly had made steady progress on the issue of open defecation in the area, adding that under its sanitation intervention projects and with support from the Greater Accra Metropolitan Assembly Sanitation and Water Project (GAMA-SWP), households had been encouraged to own toilet facilities at subsidised rates.
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The MCE added that 5,000 households, out of an estimated 24,000 in Ashaiman, had been connected to a modern sewerage facility and treatment plant inaugurated in 2023, stressing that the move had contributed significantly to curbing the poor sewer and sanitation problems in the municipality.
Mr Okyere commended Olam Agri for partnering with the assembly to assess the health status of food handlers and to identify any potential health risks. He was optimistic that such regular exercises would contribute to enhancing the health of the public.
Monitoring
The Greater Accra Regional Environmental Health Officer, Sybil Marie Boison, said medical screening was a crucial tool in improving work-related illnesses and injuries, stressing that regular screening can lead to early detection and treatment of health issues and a reduction in chronic diseases among others.
She said having taken the bakers through safe food handling practices, the department would enhance its monitoring programme to ensure strict compliance.
The Deputy Greater Accra Regional Environmental Health Officer, Michael Dogbe, called for a halt in interference by people in authority in the various communities to ensure strict enforcement of sanitation bylaws.
He said when offenders were punished, it would instil discipline in waste management and control. Mr Dogbe also appealed for logistics support to assist the environmental officers.
Writer’s email: Benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh