Wednesday, April 13, 2011

DR SEIDU KORKOR SPEAKS ON CHOLERA OUTBREAK IN GHANA


A PUBLIC HEALTH Specialist at the Northern Regional Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Services, Dr. Seidu Korkor has warned that the fight against the outbreak of cholera in Accra and other parts of Ghana could not be won, unless there was multi-sectoral collaboration and commitment.

According to him, the disease had become a national canker simply because some Ministries and departments had failed to be very responsive and responsible in their operations and service delivery.

Speaking in an interview with this blogger in his office in Tamale, Dr. Korkor said the spread of the Cholera should not be blamed solely on the Ghana Health Service or the Ministry of Health, but other Ministries especially the Water Resources, Works and Housing and Local Government and Rural Development which had the responsibilities to ensure adequate supply of potable water and maintenance of proper sanitary environment.

He indicated that the fast spread of the disease was an indication that Ghana had not done much in the areas of water provision and proper management of water in the various regions.

Dr. Seidu Korkor also the National Programme Manager of the Guinea Worm Eradication Programme bemoaned that filth was engulfing almost every village, town and city of Ghana, in spite of the huge sums of money being spent by successive governments to manage the situation.

Majority of the people he indicated had now resorted to the habit of open defecation around their localities, streams and dams, while others were also dumping wastes indiscriminatingly.

This behaviour has thus resulted in the choking of the few drainage systems and gutters leading to preventable flooding of most communities in the country.

Citing Tamale as an example, Dr. Korkor said that, it would become a very big challenge for the whole nation, should the Cholera scare hit the metropolis, since the city was already suffering from inadequate water supply, and the environment had not also been properly managed by the Assembly.

Open defecation for instance is a normal practice for both the children and adults in Tamale.

The area also continuously experience the situation of cattle and other livestock drinking from the same water sources with the people, whiles refuse dumps also keep finding their ways into the streams and dams.

Dr. Seidu Korkor therefore called on government to prevail upon all Ministries, Agencies and Departments who had a role to play to ensure the safety of Ghanaians to sit up, before the Cholera disease becomes uncontrollable.

He enjoined the Ministry of Local Government to ensure that the District Assemblies assume full responsibility of ensuring efficient waste management and also sensitizing the public to practice good sanitation.

However, Dr. Seidu Korkor was confident that the Ghana Health Service was up to the task in the fight against the Cholera.

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