No Jobs For Hygiene Graduates �While Ghana Battles Filth

The Principal of Accra School of Hygiene, Henry Narteh Adepa has revealed that Ghana has failed as a nation in showing commitment to fighting environmental health and its hygiene related issues. He said currently, there are no equipment, chemicals and logistics at the various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to embark on health promotion as it used to be, while graduates of schools of hygiene are left unemployed. This he attributed to the outbreak of some communicable diseases such as typhoid fever, cholera, diarrhoea and malaria. Speaking in an interview with the DAILY HERITAGE, he said in the past Ghanaians ran to hide when they saw hygiene officers who were number one enemies to filth and key agents to health promotion and there was total order on the environment. �Unlike these days, government commitment in fighting environmental health is very poor at a time the whole world is focusing on public health and domestic hygiene,� he stated. Mr. Adepa told this paper that environmental health has now become a neglected profession in the country because there is no commitment on the part of government and policy makers to embark on educating the people on personal, environmental and domestic hygiene. �Our people are virtually handicapped because there are no sanitary stores at the various MDAs nor PA system to go out and educate the people on health promotion while graduates are not giving any working materials such as uniforms, motor bikes, shoes and others to facilitate their work,� he said. Mr. Adepa mentioned political interference as one of the areas that has contributed to the slow growth of hygiene in cities and villages because most District Chief Executives have openly prevented officers from prosecuting law offenders. The principal added that Ghana�s sanitation problems started to deteriorate as a result of moving environmental health from the Ministry of Health to Local Government and Regional Integration Ministry. He mentioned lack of equity among other health institutions as graduates from schools of hygiene receive less pay and recognition at the job market. Mr. Adepa also blamed the Ghanaian media for lack of understanding of health issues. He said in case of any outbreak instead of the media going to the local government ministry to find out the root cause, they rather go to the health ministry which deals with the curative aspect. He added that most households and communities in cities lack toilet facilities which are the root cause of cholera outbreak and instead of government channelling resources in building modern facilities they rather focus on things that will give it votes during elections. �Ghana has been taken hostage by mosquitoes because we have failed as a nation in fighting them and also failed in practicing personal hygiene in our homes and on the streets.� The principal said until the country begins to value issues relating to environmental health and hygiene, Ghana will continue to suffer from common communicable diseases which were not common in the past.