Sanitation-related diseases accounted for about GH¢8.6 million of money spent in the treatment of diseases reported to health facilities in the Upper West Region last year and thereby strained the finances of the various Mutual Health Insurance schemes.
Out of this amount about GH¢7,427,351 was spent on patients on admission while GH¢1,254,117 took care of out patients. These diseases are malaria, acute respiratory infections and diarrhoea.
Alhaji Abu Yahaya, Chairman of the Upper West Regional Health Committee who disclosed this at Wa on Saturday said during the period, 208,309 patients reported at these facilities with malaria while 29,494 patients and 10,537 patients suffered from acute respiratory infections and diarrhoea respectively.
Speaking when he presided at the closing session of a one-week course for Sanitation Guards drawn from the Wa Municipality, Wa East, Wa West and Sissala East Districts, he noted that these diseases were 90% preventable if the people changed their behaviour and attitude to sanitation.
He called on the government to invest heavily in sanitation in order to arrest the huge money that was constantly expended on medical care and the man-hours lost as a result of diseases that could be prevented.
Mr. Emmanuel Volsuri, Regional Operations Supervisor of Zoom Lion Ghana Limited said 90 Sanitation Guards had so far been trained in the region and provided with the necessary logistics and bicycles and uniform to enhance their work.
He said Zoom Lion organized the training programme to impart in the participants the relevant skills and knowledge to carry their duties effectively.
The Guards are expected to assist Environmental Health Officers in hygiene education and promotion, premise inspection, dissemination of sanitary information, supervision and monitoring of sanitation services.
The Upper West Regional Minister, Mahmud Khalid in a speech read on his behalf, said the Global economic recession enjoined all persons to be serious with sanitation to avert the channelling of resources to fight diseases that could be prevented.
He commended Zoom Lion for its contribution to solving environmental problems adding that, the nation’s objectives could only be achieved if the people had healthy bodies and minds.
Sanitation Updates 