The Director of Public Health at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Florence Kuukyi, has raised alarm over the deteriorating state of sanitation in Accra, warning that it poses a growing threat to public health.
She noted that the increasing levels of filth across the city are not only fueling outbreaks of cholera and other sanitation-related illnesses but are also worsening air quality in the capital.
Referring to recent data, Ms. Kuukyi revealed that air pollution claims more than 28,000 lives in Ghana every year — roughly one death every 19 minutes.
Describing the situation as “disheartening,” she urged all relevant institutions and citizens to act swiftly and collaboratively to prevent further decline.
“This is leading to a number of diseases, not just the diarrhea and the typhoid you mentioned. It also has an impact on the air you breathe. Studies have it that in Ghana, over 28,000 people die prematurely due to air pollution. This means that in every 19 minutes, somebody dies due to air pollution,” she said.
Ms. Kuukyi stressed that maintaining proper sanitation is a shared responsibility among government bodies, private waste management companies, and residents.
“Sanitation in the country is a collective and collaborative effort. Everyone has a role to play when it comes to sanitation issues. In Ghana, we are practicing the ‘pollutant pay’ system — the persons who generate the waste must pay for it to be disposed of. That is where the issues come in. People generate waste and do not want to take on that responsibility, and they want to push everything on the government,” she explained.
She further appealed to residents to take personal ownership of the waste they produce and to work closely with city authorities to make Accra cleaner and safer for all.
