Fishing communities urged to help halt spread of cholera
The Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ms Sherry Ayittey, has appealed to fishing communities to adopt good environmental practices to prevent the spread of cholera.
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She made the remarks when she called on fishermen and residents at the James Town Beach in Accra on Tuesday.
The minister was accompanied by representatives from the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council, National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).
Ms Ayittey called on the Mayor of Accra, Mr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuiye, to ensure waste collectors clear all the refuse in the city.
She said the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture had received several complaints from some fisherfolks about the absence of sanitary inspectors at the beaches, a situation which they said, had contributed to the outbreak of cholera.
She tasked the AMA to enforce its bye-laws that enjoined every household to provide toilet facilities and also appealed to the assembly to construct more public toilets in the fishing communities to meet the needs of the increasing population.
Homowo festival
Ms Ayittey further appealed to people in the fishing communities to be cautious in their interactions during the Homowo Festival celebrations.
She proposed that the Ghana Health Service undertake awareness creation programmes within the capital during the Homowo festive season on how to prevent Ebola.
Measures to curb cholera
The Deputy Director of Public Health, Greater Accra Regional Health Directorate, Dr John Eleeza, urged the fishermen and women to regularly wash their hands with soap and running water.
He advised them to desist from buying food from unhygienic places.
According to Dr Eleeza, the number of reported cases of cholera in the Greater Accra Region was 3,600, out out of which 36 had died.
