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.
He 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 to pose health risks.
Mr. Donkor made the statement while speaking to journalists on the sidelines of an extensive disinfection and disinfestation exercise embarked upon by waste management giant, Zoomlion Ghana Limited at Accra New Town.
The operation is being carried out in partnership with the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Greater Accra.
The operation is part of a broader disinfection and disinfestation programme being undertaken across Greater Accra, following the recent flooding, with the aim of reducing the presence and spread of disease-causing organisms, flies, mosquitoes and other public health threats.
He contended that flood runoff should not be considered ordinary wastewater because it could contain a high concentration of pollutants and pathogenic organisms capable of posing serious risks to public health.
At the Five-Five Public Toilet at Accra Newtown, he said the exercise had therefore come at an important time to deal with harmful microorganisms that may have been carried along by 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 operation could have been undertaken earlier, but noted 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, while expressing appreciation to the Presidency and Zoomlion Ghana Limited for supporting the intervention.
He also commended media organisations for supporting efforts aimed at promoting sanitation, public health and environmental safety, noting that maintaining acceptable public health standards required collective responsibility.
The Zoomlion teams deployed covered a number of public and institutional facilities within parts of the Greater Accra Region, including the Five Five Public Toilet at Accra Newtown, 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 included the La Bawleshie dumpsite, the Gbegbeyisie cluster of schools at Dansoman, Glefe unauthorized dumpsite and parts of Sowutuom in the Ga Central Municipality.
Mr. Donkor entreated residents and managers of public facilities to complement such interventions by maintaining proper sanitation practices and ensuring that waste and other materials that could create breeding grounds for disease vectors are properly managed.