The Director of Public Health at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Dr. Simpson Boateng has asked major stakeholders in the health sector to put in place measures to control cholera cases in the country.
“We are heading towards an epidemic and that is why there is a need for us to rather focus on curbing the spread, “Dr. Simpson said.
An outbreak of cholera, a disease caused by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae has put the lives of hundreds at risk in parts of the country.
There has been an increase in the number of cholera cases being recorded in hospitals across the nation.
The Ridge Hospital, for instance, has recorded a total of 204 cholera cases so far.
Some have attributed the outbreak of the disease in Accra to the AMA’s failure to improve sanitary conditions in the city.
But speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Simpson insisted the AMA cannot be held responsible for the problem since it played its role by ensuring that it offers the necessary education needed to control a further spread of the disease.
Mr. Simpson rather attributed the disease to lack of toilets in the country.
“We all know the link between cholera and toilet. The problem is that unfortunately there are still so many houses in the capital city which do not have toilets in them and that is the cause,” he stated.
“Because of that, people are forced to defecate in the open spaces and when it rains the water spreads and goes into people’s homes and that contaminates everything over there and leaves us to the condition we are experiencing now.”
Dr. Simpson said various hospitals in the country have recorded about 500 cholera cases since the outbreak.
He was however quick to add that the Authority is devising measures to control “a further spread of the disease”
Meanwhile, the leader of a group calling itself the Clean Ghana Campaign, Kathleen Addy is asking Ghanaians to hold officials responsible for curbing the problem accountable.
“Someone is responsible and they must take responsibility for it and let us know why we are in this situation,” she insisted.
By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah