Health authorities in the North East Region have cautioned residents of Bunbuazio in the East Mamprusi Municipality to stop drinking water from a stream in the community.
This follows an outbreak of typhoid fever linked to the unwholesome water source of which residents had blamed for the death of some five persons in the community.
JoyNews’ Eliasu Tanko who first visited the community reported several residents were being treated for intestinal infections.
A team of officials from the East Mamprusi Health Directorate, therefore, embarked on a field inspection Wednesday and confirmed the water at the stream was unsafe and harmful for consumption.
The team included officers from the Community Water and Sanitation Agency and Environmental Department, the National Disaster Management Organization and the Municipal Assembly.
Per their observation, open defecation and an unsanitary lifestyle are a major cause of the problem.
Educating the residents in a community engagement, the Regional Director, Dr Abdulai Abubakari advised the residents to intensify environmental hygiene and improve sanitation facilities in their homes.
“Even while we were in the Chief’s palace, children were dotting it around and because of the sloppy nature of the community; the community is uphill and the stream is down so when they defecate, among the poor environmental practice, anytime it rains it washes downstream and that is what they go to drink,” the Regional Director said.
He further noted that drinking from the stream water was a deliberate act of the residents, and warned against it.
“When we got there, we saw there were two boreholes just by the stream, and the women will walk past the boreholes to the stream. Their reason is that the borehole water is not sweet.
“But we stressed in a meeting in the community, we made them understand that the safest water for them is the borehole.”
The residents were also advised to boil the borehole water before consuming it while they wait for a test result of the water from the officials and further directives.
The Regional Director also assured an engagement with development partners such as “UNICEF and PLAN, we’ll have a talk with them and see if they can help with some funds to add a borehole or two” to the ones in the community.”
Meanwhile, the Municipal Environmental Health officer at the meeting said “plans are far advanced to ensure that the community triggered under the rural sanitation model and strategy to ensure that at least every household has a small household toilet for their use.”
According to him, the team will also disinfect the refuse site to bring some sanity in the area, “and that one will go a long way to reduce the bacteria growth that is likely to affect the people in their various houses.”
The Assemblyman of the area, on his part, called for agencies to support in getting them more boreholes as he noted the effect of negligence.
Source:Fiilafmonline/JoyNews
