Take post-flood disinfection seriously to prevent disease outbreaks – Environmental Health Officer backs Zoomlion

The Municipal Environmental Health Officer (MEHO) for the Ayawaso North Municipal Assembly in the Greater Accra Region, Richard Donkor, has stressed the need for post-flood disinfection and disinfestation exercises to protect public health and prevent possible outbreaks of disease. 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 and posing serious health risks. Mr Donkor made the remarks while speaking to journalists on the sidelines of an extensive disinfection and disinfestation exercise undertaken by waste management company Zoomlion Ghana Limited at Accra New Town.

The exercise is being carried out in partnership with the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Greater Accra Region. It forms part of a broader disinfection and disinfestation programme being implemented across the region following the recent flooding, with the aim of reducing the presence and spread of disease-causing organisms, flies, mosquitoes and other public health threats. Mr Donkor said flood runoff should not be treated as ordinary wastewater because it could contain high concentrations of pollutants and pathogenic organisms capable of posing serious risks to public health.

At the Five-Five Public Toilet in Accra New Town, he said the exercise had come at an important time to address harmful microorganisms that might 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 exercise could have been undertaken earlier but said its implementation 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. He expressed appreciation to the Presidency and Zoomlion Ghana Limited for supporting the intervention and commended media organisations for helping to promote sanitation, public health and environmental safety. According to him, maintaining acceptable public health standards requires collective responsibility from government agencies, private organisations, communities and individuals.

The Zoomlion teams covered several… Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL) has launched a comprehensive fumigation and disinfection exercise in flood-hit communities across the Western Region to help prevent outbreaks of cholera, typhoid and malaria following recent flooding. The exercise, which forms part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, is aimed at supporting the emergency response to potential public health threats arising from the floods.

The exercise began simultaneously in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis (STMA) and the Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipality (EKMA) and is expected to cover all 14 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the region. Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the exercise in Takoradi, Western Regional Manager of Zoomlion, Patrick Akorful, appealed to residents to cooperate with the fumigation teams as they move through affected communities and public facilities. “We ask the public to welcome our teams as they move through communities and facilities.