Mr Faith Dube, the Red Cross Society International Cholera Surge Delegate to Ghana, has cautioned Ghanaians to maintain strict hygienic standards as the onset of the rains could trigger recurrence of cholera.
He said the country recorded cholera outbreak during the dry season with 21 confirmed deaths in Central Region alone, signaling a heightened risk with the onset of rains.
He gave the caution in an interview with the Ghana News Agency after a health emergency response meeting with Ghana Health Service officials in the six districts hit by cholera in the Central Region.
The engagement was to assess the progress of work done since the outbreak of cholera in November 2024.
It was also to bid health officials farewell as he returned to South Africa, his home country after ending his emergency response service to the country with.
Mr Dube said that the importance of personal hygiene such as regular hand washing and adherence to other preventive protocols were key to avoiding the spread of cholera.
People should maintain strict hygiene and sanitation practices, get vaccinated and also adhere to public awareness education to curb the disease.
He enumerated the Red Cross Society’s efforts to combat cholera outbreak, which included the donation of essential equipment such as Veronica buckets, aqua tabs, and solar-powered knapsack sprayers to state institutions to aid their work.
Red Cross also donated 54,192 cholera vaccines to the Ghana Health Service for vaccination in Mfantseman, Cape Coast and Komenda-Edina-Eguaafo-Abrem (KEEA) and intensified risk communication and community engagements.
He said before then, Red Cross recruited 205 volunteers in six districts; Agona West, Effutu, Mfantseman, Abura-Asiebu-Kwamankese, Cape Coast, Twifo Hemang Lawer Denkyira and the Komenda-Edina-Eguaafo-Abrem.
The volunteers raised awareness and promoted preventive behaviours and engaged in one-on-one discussions in schools, churches, and religious and traditional leaders.
Since the outbreak, he said with combined efforts of all stakeholders, the cholera vaccine campaign, and education, successfully reached more than 94.1 percent of the target population.
Mr Dube urged the Red Cross to continue training and building the capacity of Ghanaian health staff in epidemic management and expressed gratitude to stakeholders for their continuous support.
Mr Mohammed Baidoo, Central Regional Manager of the Red Cross Ghana, urged Ghanaians to prioritise personal hygiene and adopt best sanitation practices to prevent an outbreak.
Mr Baidoo explained that cholera, a severe diarrhoea disease caused by contaminated food and water, thrives in environments with poor sanitation and improper waste management.
He called on communities to improve on sanitation practices and urged the public to follow hygienic protocols of regular hand washing with soap, safe food preparation, and disposing of waste properly to break the transmission cycle of the disease.
He emphasised the critical need for attitudinal change in waste disposal habits, particularly condemning the practice of opening faecal matter into drains, which exacerbated the spread of cholera.
He said the Red Cross, together with health authorities, continue to advocate for sustained sanitation improvements and behavioural change to protect public health and prevent future cholera outbreaks in Ghana.
Source: GNA
The post Red Cross official cautions Ghana on cholera resurgence as rainy season approaches appeared first on Ghana Business News.
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