Contaminated water, source of health risk in Ghana - Official

Mr Frank Quansah, Programme Officer of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has advised households to treat and store water properly to avoid contamination.

“This is because of the high risk of water “contamination and re-contamination from point of fetch, to use,” Mr Quansah said.

He was speaking on Household Water Treatment and Storage (HWTS) at an orientation workshop in Ho on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programme being implemented by Government with sponsorship from United Nations Children’s Fund.

He said the cheapest and easiest, yet very effective ways of treating domestic water, is to expose it to sunshine.

Mr Quansah said the use of moringa seeds has been scientifically proven to be as effective as dropping of iodine tablets into water and boiling it.

He advised that commercially treated water must be retreated at home before use.

“Don’t trust labels, don’t trust adverts, keep your water safe,” he said.

Mr Quansah said HWTS is critical in reducing diarrhoea and cholera.

He said although Ghana is making headway with the Millennium Development Goal on water, diarrhoea and cholera continued to undermine the efforts.

Mr Quansah said hand washing with soap, safe excreta disposal and household water treatment must be used in order to close the door on communicable diseases.

He said 44 per cent of the population practice hand washing with soap, 32 per cent observe sanitation, 25 per cent of the citizenry enjoy water supply while 11 per cent have access to treated water.