Dambai-Lakeside (O/R)-Ghana, Dec 19, GNA – Mr. Edem Atiase, the Krachi East Municipal Environmental Health Officer (MEHO), has appealed to residents of the municipality to avoid indiscriminate defaecation and littering near water bodies to prevent an outbreak of cholera, diarrhoea, and typhoid.
The MEHO said: “A UNICEF Study of 2021 states that over 800 children under the age of five die every day from diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid and dysentery caused by unsafe water, poor sanitation and poor hygiene.”
He added: “Surface water provides nearly half of the water drawn for domestic use” and that open defecation would pollute it, so must stop.
Mr. Atiase made these remarks after a clean-up exercise organised by the Office at Dambai Lakeside, a suburb of Dambai, the Oti Regional capital.
He said the Office decided to organise the clean-up exercise after realising that the commuters and sellers at the place litter it daily making the place unhygienic.
The MEHO said maintaining a clean environment reduced pollution, preserved biosphere, protects endangered species, and preserved the earth’s natural resources.
Mr. Atiase, therefore, asked the residents to clean their environment daily and cautioned against littering the environment as it was an offence punishable by the law court.
The MEHO said illegally dumped garbage could kill or stunt plant growth and that even small animals crawled into bottles or jars and got stuck and starved to death.
Mr. Atiase said birds, small animals and water creatures ate or got entangled in plastic bags or six-ring holders because of environmental littering.
