The Minority in Parliament has called for an urgent briefing from Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh on measures to prevent disease outbreaks after floods killed at least 12 people and affected more than 38,000 others.
At a press conference on Tuesday (30 June), Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin said Parliament should be updated on the government’s public health response, warning that flooding had created conditions for the spread of communicable diseases.
“Overflowing sanitation facilities create conditions for the rapid spread of communicable diseases,” Afenyo-Markin said.
He said the opposition wanted the health minister to explain measures being taken to monitor flood-hit communities for early signs of disease, the emergency medical supplies deployed, and the surveillance systems in place to detect and respond to any outbreak.
The Minority also called for details of the government’s preparedness to manage any public health emergency arising from the flooding.
Beyond the immediate health concerns, Afenyo-Markin accused the government of pursuing policies that had worsened environmental degradation and contributed to the flooding.
He alleged that the government’s GoldBod initiative and the Bank of Ghana Gold-for-Reserves programme had encouraged illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey, leading to the destruction of watersheds, wetlands and river systems that help mitigate flooding.
“The Minority holds the government accountable for the galamsey policy that is contrary to its own campaign promise and is contributing to the disaster it is now claiming to be responding to,” he said.
Source: asaaseradio.com
