It is indeed a joy to witness how the use of simple technological tools and scientific methods have helped to save lives, prevent sickness and protect the environment in various parts of the country.
For instance, the use of mobile phones for consultation among healthcare practitioners in the Keta Municipality in the Volta Region has saved the town from recording any case of cholera.
Again, the adoption of an ecosystem conservation and restoration at the Weto (mountain) Range in the Ho West District has caused the land to regain its fertility. Animals which had fled the area have started coming back while water bodies that were dried up have started gushing water.
These are some of the activities being funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) in Ghana.
I got a good appreciation of the impact of these intervention projects when I joined a UNDP team for an assessment visit of the UNDP's sponsored projects in the Volta, Northern, Upper West and Greater Accra regions from November 16-26, 2014.
The remarks of the implementers and beneficiaries of the projects were an indication of the positive impact of the projects.
Tele consultation
Cholera outbreaks in the Keta Municipality were a regular feature before the introduction of tele consultation in the area in 2013. The poor sanitation condition in some communities in Keta coupled with flooding in some areas created the condition for cholera .
As a result, Keta was always among the areas with the highest recorded cases of cholera.
To stem the tide of cholera in the Keta municipality, the UNDP, in September 2013, supplied 26 android mobile phones to doctors and nurses at the two hospitals, 11 health centres and six Community Health Improvement Services (CHIPS) compounds in the municipality.
In addition to the phones, the UNDP loads each of the 26 phones with 500 units talk time and 20 megabytes of data monthly.
With the use of the mobile phones, nurses at the various health centres receive instructions from doctors at the Keta Municipal Hospital and Sacred Heart Hospital on how to treat suspected cases of cholera.
In support of the tele consultation, trained volunteers and opinion leaders in the various communities call community health nurses to report any suspected case of cholera or any complicated health condition.
Through the direction given to them on phone, the nurses go to the communities to investigate the situation.
Based on the instructions that the nurses receive on phone from doctors, they administer drugs to the patients suspected of having cholera.
Afterwards, all the family members of the patients are given drugs to cure them in case they have any infections and save them from any future infection.
The health workers have also created a group 'whatsapp' page which facilitates their communication.
The tele consultation project, which is under the Climate Change and Health Project, is supported from a $1.9 million facility.
Weto (mountain) range restoration
Persistent bush burning for hunting purposes and illegal chainsaw operations destroyed the fertility of the land along the Weto range in the Ho West District of the Volta Region.
As a result, wild animals fled the areas while water bodies also got dried up.
The introduction of an ecosystem conservation and restoration project, which is termed the Community Development and Knowledge Management for the Satoyama Initiative (COMDEKS) in Bame, Avenui and Kwanta in 2011 has produced good results.
Under the project funded by the UNDP and GEF, the people were discouraged from burning bush or cutting down trees. Nurseries were provided for the growing of seedlings for replanting purposes.
To ensure that the people did not go back to their old ways of doing things, many of the people were supported to go into piggery, rabbitry and beekeeping.
Following the cessation of bush burning and cutting of trees since 2011, the soil cover has regained its fertility leading to the production of variety of crops, wild animals which had fled Bame, Avenui and Kwanta have started coming back while water bodies that were dried up have started gushing water.
Besides, the perennial bush fires along the Weto (mountain) range which destroyed the ecosystems of the communities for decades, have not been experienced in the three areas in the last two years.
Land reclamation
Activities of sand winners at Yahoman and other communities in the Ga West Municipality of the Greater Accra Region have destroyed most of the land in the area.
With a $68,000 facility from the UNDP and GEF, a local organisation has reclaimed more than 20 hectares in the Ga West Municipality in the last five years.
About 50 women farmers were also supported to reclaim some lands in the communities.
De gasification
To prevent gases in used refrigerators from emitting into the atmosphere, the Energy Commission has, with support from the UNDP and GEF, set up recovery facilities at Afienya and Kwabenya, both in the Greater Accra Region, to recover gases from used refrigerators.
So far, the recovery facility at Afienya has recovered gases from 10,090 of the 1,500 confiscated used refrigerators sent there. The Kwabenya facility is working on 1,000 used refrigerators.
Need for more interventions
Any effort to save lives and protecting the environment is laudable. It gives much joy to see the use of simple technology and science to help in that regard.
It is, therefore, crucial for all stakeholders to join forces in adopting other innovative ways of saving lives and guarding against the destruction of the environment.
