President John Dramani Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama says his government is committed to keeping communities and cities clean through appropriate investments, supervision, and performance tracking to prevent disease outbreaks.
Delivering his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on the floor of Parliament in Accra on Thursday, President Mahama said sanitation—within the context of infectious disease outbreaks, personal hygiene, and environmental sanitation—was a major priority.
“Public health experts are grappling with the conundrum of new diseases and the re-emergence of old ones. Our cities and towns must be cleaner than what is being delivered so far,” he said.
He noted that the unpredictable nature of disease outbreaks suggested the need for a resilient health system capable of withstanding shocks.
Since October last year, Ghana has faced a severe cholera outbreak. As of February 17, 2025, 6,300 suspected cholera cases have been recorded, with 545 confirmed cases and 49 deaths.
President Mahama said the outbreak had affected 118 districts across the Greater Accra, Central, Western, Ashanti, and Eastern regions. He stated that the government had launched an aggressive vaccination and public education campaign, among other interventions, to control the situation.
“The Upper West Region is also facing a severe meningitis outbreak, with 135 suspected cases, 22 confirmed cases, and 16 deaths reported across ten districts of the region as of February 17, 2025,” he added.
The government has instituted free treatment for affected persons and deployed a national team of health experts to encourage early reporting to health facilities, President Mahama said.
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