The Ghana Health Service is stepping up efforts to educate the public on precautionary measures that should be taken to prevent the outbreak of cholera with the onset of the rains.
The Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Ebenezer Appiah-Denkyira in an interview with Radio Ghana challenged the public to adapt healthy lifestyles such as washing of hands after visiting places of convenience, covering their food, eating warm food and using hand sanitizers.
Dr Appiah Denkyira cautioned the public to clean their environment and resort to the use of mosquito nets to avoid malaria infection.
He said with the onset of the rains, there is likely to be an increase in the population of mosquitos which transmit the disease.
The rainy season is here again and when it rains many people are affected. The effects of the rains come in different forms.
It either brings cholera outbreak or homes get flooded as a result of poor drainage systems.
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly says it is seriously stepping up moves to prevent the recurrence of cholera outbreak as experienced last year.
Speaking to Radio Ghana, the Director of Public Health at the AMA, Dr Simpson Boateng said the Assembly has constituted a Sanitation Task Force to move round the city to ensure that gutters are desilted and also promote environmental cleanliness.
Dr Simpson Boateng also appealed to inhabitants to help the AMA reduce the spread of Cholera by making healthy sanitation a priority.
Meanwhile, the Madina La Nkwantanang Municipal Assembly says it has geared itself up to ensure less cholera outbreak during the rainy season.
The MCE, Frankilin Anku told Radio Ghana that the monthly National Sanitation Day exercise has lessened their effort to clear the municipality of filth.
He however admitted that there are some areas that the municipality is still struggling to rid of filth because of the negative attitude by some residents towards sanitation practices.
On heavy rains causing floods in the municipality, Mr Anku said it has been collaborating with the District NADMO Office to be on the alert in case of any disaster caused by floods.
In a related development, the Ga East Municipal Assembly says it has intensified public education against the possibility of a cholera outbreak and the need to uphold sanitation practices.
The MCE for the area, Kwao Sackey told Radio Ghana that teams from the Municipal Assembly and NADMO have begun locating areas that are prone to floods.
They have also desilted drains to prevent flood during the rainy season.
Mr Sackey said the Municipality has also removed structures on water ways.
Credit: BBC
