By: SAMUEL AYAMMAH
Zoomlion Ghana Limited, in collaboration with the Techiman South Municipal Assembly, the Bono East Regional Coordinating Council and all eleven Municipal and District Assemblies in the Bono East Region, has begun a massive disinfection and fumigation exercise across the region.
The exercise is aimed at preventing disease outbreaks following the heavy downpour and flooding witnessed across the country in the past two months.
The exercise, which started in Techiman, the regional capital, is targeting all public places that are considered high-risk for disease transmission. These include market places, lorry terminals, public and institutional toilets, communal container sites, slaughter houses, storm drains, recreational facilities, government offices, educational facilities and health facilities.
Officials say the exercise has become necessary because the recent excessive rainfall, which affected all 16 regions of the country, has left behind contamination and created conditions for disease-causing organisms and vectors to thrive.
Speaking to the media, the Bono East Regional Manager of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Bennedict Awuah, explained that the essence of the exercise is to eradicate disease-causing organisms that emanated from the severe flooding.
According to him, the disinfection will take place in all public places, especially public toilets, recreational facilities, government offices, educational facilities and health facilities, which were exposed to contamination during the rains.
He said the motive is to control and also eliminate all disease-causing organisms that could have been carried into these various places as a result of the flooding. When the chemicals are applied, he said, they are expected to eliminate and control the pathogens so as to break the disease transmission chain.
Mr. Awuah said the expectation is that the exercise will help the region avoid outbreaks of cholera, dengue fever, typhoid fever and other communicable diseases often associated with flooding.
He expressed concern about the indiscriminate dumping of waste, which he said is a major challenge in almost every part of the country and Bono East is no exception. He therefore entreated the entire populace to make environmental cleanliness a matter of concern and a priority.
He urged residents to ensure that whenever they generate waste, they send it to approved dumping sites and desist from littering the environment or dumping into gutters and drains, warning that when that happens, every effort made by the assemblies to curb disease outbreaks will be futile.
Also speaking, the Bono East Regional Environmental Officer, Gyan Lamptey, said although Techiman was fortunate not to have recorded severe flooding, the rains have come with consequences that need to be addressed to protect public health.
He said in order to minimize the impact on public health, the Regional Coordinating Council, the Techiman South Municipal Assembly and all assemblies within the Bono East Region are collaborating with Zoomlion to carry out disinfection and fumigation of public places.
He explained that the areas being targeted include storm drains, communal container sites, both institutional and communal latrines, educational facilities, health facilities and public offices such as assembly blocks and the RCC.
Mr. Lamptey noted that the regional capital is taking its turn in the exercise, with officials meeting earlier to supervise the spraying, disinfection and fumigation activities. He said once the exercise is done, it will minimize communicable diseases, water-related diseases and water-based diseases and enhance public health in the region.
For his part, the Municipal Chief Executive for Techiman South, Kwaku Adjei Mensah, said Techiman Municipality is not an exception to the recent heavy rains and flooding, hence the need for all assemblies to collaborate with Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a company he described as specialized in waste management and environmental cleanliness.
He said the exercise in Techiman South is to disinfect most of the container sites and public latrines, as well as lorry stations and markets including the Techiman Central Market. He disclosed that Techiman as a whole has about 22 container sites and about 20 public toilet locations, and the team will go round all these areas to fumigate and disinfect them.
Mr. Adjei Mensah added that the exercise will not be limited to container sites and public latrines alone but will be extended to other critical areas like storm drains and the slaughter house, which he described as very critical, to deal with all issues that could lead to cholera and other disease outbreaks.
He said the assembly has carried out extensive public education ahead of the exercise, which has enabled residents to vacate the targeted areas for smooth execution, describing the exercise as successful so far.
Officials of Zoomlion Ghana Limited indicated that the exercise will cover all eleven districts in the Bono East Region, including Techiman North, Techiman South, Nkoranza North, Nkoranza South, Atebubu-Amantin, Sene East, Sene West, Kintampo North, Kintampo South, Pru East and Pru West.
Residents, traders, drivers and butchers at the Techiman Central Market, the main lorry terminal and the municipal slaughter house who witnessed the exercise expressed appreciation and appealed for it to be done regularly, especially during the rainy season.
The collaboration between Zoomlion and the assemblies in Bono East is seen as a proactive step towards preventing disease outbreaks and ensuring a cleaner, healthier and safer environment for all residents of the region.
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