The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (A.M.A) in conjunction with the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), has organized a sensitization program for Assembly members on the cholera outbreak.
The program was to equip members with much knowledge and understanding of the issues surrounding the outbreak and how they can serve as proper ambassadors in delivering and educating people in their respective areas.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Director of the AMA, Mr. Sam Ayeh Dartey indicated that, the issue of cholera is catching the headlines of newspapers because of the many lives which are lost.
He believed that, the sensitization exercise organized for the Assembly members will better position them to properly educate their people on good hygiene.
Mr Abbey, a Specialist on Health Education at the A.M.A and a resource person for the program, explained that cholera is mostly contracted through the consumption of contaminated water and food.
He further explained that when one contracts the disease, it means he or she has come into contact with the faeces of an infected person.
According to him, the death toll of the cholera outbreak every year, is appalling adding that, over the world, about 120,000 deaths are recorded every year due to cholera outbreak.
He opined that, the situation is not too good in Ghana since, although some level of progress is made to contain the situation, reported cases keep increasing by day.
Mr Abbey also averred that although cholera had its roots from the Gandhis river in India, it is now endemic in many countries including Ghana.
He mentioned that, in Ghana the situation seems to be worse in peri-urban and the intra urban slums where there is high rate of inadequate environmental management, thereby putting the lives of many people at great risk.
He however stressed that, there is the need for a multi-disciplinary approach base on prevention, preparedness and Response to the disease.
There must also be an effective surveillance system which he considered as key for mitigating cholera outbreak, controlling it in endemic areas and reducing deaths.
“Cholera is an easily treatable disease, up to 80% of people can be treated successfully through prompt administration of Oral Re-hydration Salt. However very severely dehydrated patients require administration of intravenous fluids,” he said.
However, he advised that Cholera centres be set up among the affected population to ensure timely access to treatment, and that with proper.
On his part, the Director of Public Health at the A.M.A, Dr Simpson Boateng, who was also a resource person at the program, said his team had buried 64 people with majority of such cases occurring in areas like Abuja, Agbogbloshie, Nima, Odorna, Sodom and Gommorah, Mensah Guinea, all slum areas where improper sanitary situation becomes endemic.
“These areas are unplanned settlements and we realized that lots of the houses in Accra do not have toilet facilities hence people are forced to defecate into drains and in the open,” he said, adding that the A.M.A has adopted strategies to be able to educate the public, conduct clean up exercises in the flashy areas.
The sanitation courts, he said, have also been established to serve the purpose of punishing people who flout the sanitation laws, and to enforce the by-laws.
“The major problem we were having had to do with landfill sites. but as we speak now, the Assembly has been able to acquire two landfill sites at Nsumia and Sonitra.”
Simpson Boateng also explained that the closure of chop bars came as result of the fact that, majority of them operate under unhygienic conditions, hence the decision to close them down to save the people from dying.
The resource persons for the program called on the Assembly members to do well in assisting the Sanitation Standards Implementation Committee (SSIC) members to educate people on the situation at hand.
They averred that giving out the right information and education, will help save situations and prevent deaths.
