<<Print>>

Savana Waste Management Limited, a waste management company based in Tamale, has begun spraying the final waste disposal sites of all 26 districts in the Northern Region to prevent the breeding of flies, the main carriers of the cholera disease-causing bacteria.

The exercise is also targeted at places where flies have a high tendency to breed, including communal container sites and public toilets, to prevent the outbreak of cholera.

As part of the exercise to prevent an outbreak of cholera in the region, the company is also carrying out public education on the need for the general public to cultivate the habit of using toilets instead of engaging in open defecation.
 

The misuse of insecticides

Speaking at one of the public education fora at Savelugu after a spraying exercise, the Regional Vector Control Officer, Mr Abdulai Abdul-Aziz Yelsuma, cautioned the public to avoid the indiscriminate use of insecticides as that could cause ‘insecticide resistance’.

He explained it as a condition where an insecticide or a group of insect pests are no longer affected by an insecticide because they have developed a certain resistance to it and advised that the instruction labels on insecticides should always be read carefully before being used.

Cholera

Mr Yelsuma noted that cholera was purely an environmental health problem, so every step must be taken to help control its spread, adding, “You don’t get cholera until you have eaten food or water contaminated by faecal matter.”

The Municipal Environmental Officer for Savelugu /Nanton, Mr Duut Kombian, stated that although the municipality did not record any cholera case last year, it was important for the public to prepare adequately to ensure that no case was recorded this year.

He expressed his gratitude to the spraying team for always being very proactive in their work and encouraged them to keep it up.

Appeal for sanitation court

Mr Kombian warned that his outfit would not hesitate to prosecute anybody who littered the environment and did not obey sanitation bye-laws in the municipality.

He also appealed to the government to set up a sanitation court in the municipality to prosecute those who flouted sanitation bye-laws, as the municipality had to rely on the court in Tamale to prosecute sanitation-related cases.

So far, four districts have been covered by the exercise. These are the Tamale Metropolitan Area, Savelugu/Nanton Municipality, West Mamprusi, and East Gonja districts.