Ghana needs national plan on environmental health  

Madam Florence S. Kuukyi, Director, Metro Public Health Department, Accra Metropolitan Assembly, says Ghana needs a comprehensive plan on environmental health to address sanitation challenges holistically.   

“The reason the country is unable to solve its environmental health and sanitation issues is because it does not have a comprehensive national plan,” she stated.  

Madam Kuukyi said though the country had environmental health and sanitation plans at the district levels, the lack of a national plan to consolidate the work done in the districts was thwarting the efforts. 

She said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA).   

Madam Kuukyi said countries that had succeeded in putting an end to frequent reports of food poisoning and good sanitation and environmental health had a national plan on environmental health and sanitation and that it was time Ghana developed one. 

She blamed the lack of a national plan on the absence of a national environmental health officer.  

Madam Kuukyi said if that office had existed, it would be mandated to coordinate the activities of the districts towards the achievement of a national agenda.   

She said sanitation was key in ensuring sustainable development and lamented how her office appeared not to be a priority for successive governments.   

“…There are Environmental Health Officers in some Assemblies who don’t even have office infrastructure. They have only one office with a bench,” she said.  

Source: GNA