Stella Vidzro, Adaklu District Environmental Officer, on Friday stated that open defecation was a challenge—a practice that not only brought an unbearable stench but also posed health risks to everyone.
“It’s an environmental hazard,” she stressed.
Vidzro was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview on the sidelines of a fumigation exercise undertaken by the Evangelical Presbyterian Church Yayra Child and Youth Development Centre at Adaklu Kodzobi in the Adaklu District.
The fumigation, done in collaboration with the Adaklu District Environmental Office and Zoomlion Ghana, was part of the Centre’s anti-malaria campaign exercise.
The month-long programme is being sponsored by Compassion International Ghana (CIG), an organisation committed to transforming the lives of children living in extreme poverty.
Vidzro noted with concern that most households in the district did not have toilets, and some communities also lacked public toilets.
She stated that the maintenance of community public toilets was another challenge, adding that some community members used their schools’ toilets, which they often left in horrible states for the schoolchildren to clean.
Vidzro urged the people to take sanitation and hygiene issues seriously, saying, “Health is wealth.”
She called on Assembly Members, traditional and religious leaders, and other stakeholders in the district to join hands with her outfit “to fight the canker of open defecation and nip it in the bud before it results in a catastrophe.”
Vidzro complained about attacks on her staff in some communities, which were deterring them from visiting such areas to educate residents on good sanitation practices and enforce sanitation bylaws.
She bemoaned the lack of transportation for her outfit, which she said was a major setback in their operations.
Vidzro appealed to Mr. Governs Kwame Agbodza, Minister for Roads and Highways, who is also the Member of Parliament for Adaklu, to help provide them with a means of transport to facilitate their work.
Benjamin Fumador, Director of the Centre, told the GNA that as part of the celebration, his outfit organized cleanup exercises, malaria sensitization, and health screenings for the participants’ caregivers.
He commended CIG for their financial and logistical support in making the exercise a success.
Fumador appealed to parents and guardians of the participants to ensure that their wards always sleep under insecticide-treated mosquito nets and keep their environments clean.