The Municipal Environmental Health Officer (MEHO) for the Ayawaso North Municipal Assembly in the Greater Accra Region, Richard Donkor, has stressed the importance of post-flood disinfection and disinfestation exercises to protect public health and prevent possible outbreaks of diseases.
Mr. Donkor explained that floodwaters often pass through highly contaminated areas, including public toilets, septic tanks, drains, dumping sites and other waste facilities before spreading into communities and public spaces, thereby posing serious health risks.
He made the remarks while speaking to journalists on the sidelines of an extensive disinfection and disinfestation exercise undertaken by waste management company, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, at Accra New Town.
The exercise is being carried out in partnership with the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) across the Greater Accra Region as part of a broader disinfection and disinfestation programme following the recent flooding.
The programme is aimed at reducing the presence and spread of disease-causing organisms, flies, mosquitoes and other public health threats in affected communities and facilities.
Mr. Donkor cautioned that flood runoff should not be treated as ordinary wastewater because it could contain high concentrations of pollutants and pathogenic organisms capable of posing serious risks to public health.
At the Five-Five Public Toilet at Accra New Town, he said the exercise had come at an important time to deal with harmful microorganisms that may have been carried along by the floodwaters.
“This is to make sure that we take care of all pathogenic organisms that came along with the flooding that we had a couple of weeks ago,” he said.
Mr. Donkor acknowledged that the exercise could have been undertaken earlier but stressed that its implementation at this stage remained important in protecting communities from the potential health consequences of the floods.
“I must admit that even though it is late, better late than never,” he said.
He expressed appreciation to the Presidency and Zoomlion Ghana Limited for supporting the intervention, adding that such initiatives were important in safeguarding public health in flood-affected communities.
Mr. Donkor also commended media organisations for supporting efforts to promote sanitation, public health and environmental safety.
He noted that maintaining acceptable public health standards required the collective efforts of government agencies, private organisations, the media and residents.
The Zoomlion teams deployed for the exercise covered a number of public and institutional facilities within parts of the Greater Accra Region.
These included the Five-Five Public Toilet at Accra New Town, facilities serving the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Ghana Ambulance Service and Ghana Education Service (GES) at Mamobi, as well as selected dumping sites and other sanitation facilities.
Other areas that benefited from the exercise included the La Bawleshie dumpsite, the Gbegbeyisie cluster of schools at Dansoman, the Glefe unauthorised dumpsite and parts of Sowutuom in the Ga Central Municipality.
Mr. Donkor urged residents and managers of public facilities to complement the intervention by maintaining proper sanitation practices.
He particularly advised them to ensure that waste and other materials capable of creating breeding grounds for disease vectors are properly managed to reduce the risk of disease outbreaks following the floods.
