Ministry gives instructions to check cholera spread

Accra, April 4, GNA - The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, on Monday directed all Regional Ministers, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives to as a matter of urgency take step= s not only to minimise the spread of cholera to other regions or communities but also stop it.

A statement signed by the sector minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, sai= d this must be done in collaboration with relevant stakeholders and sector players. "...since the Ministry has the mandate for sanitation, we are requir= ed to take urgent and proactive actions especially from the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs)," he said. The Minister said the Regional Coordinating Councils and MMDAs were to mobilise the needed resources and logistics to carry out planned activities in the short and medium term to stem the spread of the disease. Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said the Ministry would provide the needed backup support in the area of dislodging public latrines. A cholera outbreak in the Greater Accra, Central, Eastern and Upper West regions has claimed about 67 lives so far. The Minister directed that immediate attention should be directed at clean-up exercises and evacuation of heaps of garbage piled up in the communities.

Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said the Ministry was releasing GH¢8,000 to Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies to recapitalise environmental service providers to enhance service delivery. He said MMDAs should desilt choked drains, get the Environmental Healt= h and Sanitation Units and other relevant stakeholders to carry out intensive education and intensify inspection of food joints and chop bars to take appropriate actions.

Mr Ofosu-Ampofo directed MMDAs to take urgent steps to stop the use of waste water to irrigate vegetable gardens, enforce food hygiene and other hygiene-related practices and regulations within the communities and fumigate refuse heaps.

"The Ministry is deploying 500 fumigation gangs to the Accra Metropolitan, Ga East Municipal and Awutu Senya District Assemblies," the Minister said.

Mr Ofosu-Ampofo asked MMDAs to liaise with the Ghana Health Service to ensure proper fumigation of cholera corpses before burial. "No such corpses should be released to anybody since they are infectious and can be source of further infection/transmission." The Minister directed all MMDAs to put in place committees/task forces to plan and oversee the implementation of planned activities and to sustain these activities.

Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said the Ministry would in the next few weeks post 651 additional Environmental Health Officers to augment the staff strength of the Assemblies to ensure effective sanitation and hygiene service delivery. He appealed to development partners, non-governmental organisations, religious organisations, community-based organisations and other benevolent organisations to support the Ministry, Regional Coordinating Councils and MMDAs in the effort to stop the outbreak of cholera and prevent it from turning into an epidemic.