Unauthorised food vendors throng Fanteakwa schools

Ahomahomasu (E/R), Feb. 7, GNA - The Environmental Health Division of the Ministry of Health has been urged to assist the Fanteakwa District Directorate of Education to flush out unauthorized food vendors in schools.

The District Co-ordinator of Schools Health Education Programme (SHEP), Miss Christiana Serwaa Appiah made the call at a day's workshop on health for school-based Co-ordinators of SHEP at Ahomahomasu on Friday.

Miss Appiah expressed regret that about 90 per cent of food vendors operated in schools in the District without Health Certificates. She said they always flouted the advice to attend medical check-up to ascertain their health status and obtain health certificate before selling cooked food to pupils.

Miss Appiah said even though SHEP had been in existence for about 13 years most headteachers attached little importance to it to the detriment of the pupils.

She urged school heads to stop food vendors without certified health certificates from selling food to pupils on school campuses and advised them to establish school health committees and clubs to assist school Co-ordinators in the discharge of their duties.

Miss Appiah asked teachers to get involved in the HIV/AIDS education campaign to protect the youth between the ages of five and 14 dubbed "window of Hope" from contracting the deadly disease.

Miss Joyce Budu of the District Health Administration, said school health coverage in the District was very low and urged headteachers to re-introduce personal hygiene in schools and examine the health of the pupils weekly from Kindergarten to the junior secondary school level. Miss Budu urged headteachers to keep well-equipped First Aid Boxes in schools.