Florence Kuukyi, the Director of Public Health at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), has expressed deep concern over the worsening sanitation situation in Accra and its increasing threat to public health. She cautioned that the rising levels of filth throughout the capital are fueling outbreaks of cholera and other sanitation-related diseases, while also significantly worsening air quality.
Referring to recent statistics, Ms. Kuukyi pointed out that more than 28,000 Ghanaians die each year due to air pollution—equivalent to one death every 19 minutes. Calling the situation “disheartening,” she urged immediate and coordinated action from all stakeholders to prevent the crisis from escalating. “This is resulting in various diseases, not just diarrhoea and typhoid.
It also affects the air we breathe. Studies indicate that in Ghana, over 28,000 people die prematurely from air pollution, meaning someone dies every 19 minutes,” she explained. The AMA Public Health Director emphasized that managing sanitation is a collective responsibility involving the government, private waste management companies, and residents alike.
“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 practising 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.
Ms Kuukyi called on residents to take personal responsibility for managing the waste they generate, urging them to cooperate with the city’s sanitation and environmental health authorities to make Accra cleaner and safer.
Source: Afua Adwubi Wiafe Akenteng
