Omanghana
Zoomlion Ghana Limited has launched a region-wide disinfection and disinfestation exercise across the Volta Region following recent flooding in several communities.
The campaign is being implemented in collaboration with the Volta Regional Coordinating Council and the various municipal and district assemblies. It will cover all 18 municipalities and districts in the region.
The exercise seeks to reduce environmental and public health risks created by stagnant floodwaters, displaced waste and other contaminants left behind after the floods.
Flooded communities can experience a rapid increase in mosquitoes, flies, rodents and other disease-carrying pests. Contaminated water and decomposing waste can also expose residents to illnesses such as malaria, cholera and typhoid fever.
The campaign began with a four-hour operation at the Ho Central Market, one of the region’s busiest commercial centers.
Specialized spraying teams were deployed to disinfect and control pests within the market and its surrounding areas. The operation is expected to continue at other high-traffic public facilities across the region.
Priority locations include transport terminals, lorry parks, public toilets, schools, Community-based Health Planning and Services compounds and refuse disposal sites.
Communities affected by the recent floods, including Hodzo, will also benefit from the intervention as the teams extend the exercise throughout the region.
Zoomlion’s Volta Regional Manager, Emmanuel Amemakalor, said the company was undertaking the exercise at no cost as part of its corporate social responsibility program.
He explained that Zoomlion had provided the logistics, spraying equipment and trained personnel required to support efforts to protect residents from sanitation-related diseases.
The Regional Environmental Health Officer, Stella Kumedzro, warned that floodwaters often carry human waste, refuse and other dangerous contaminants into homes and public spaces.
She noted that flooding can also displace disease-carrying pests from their habitats and force them into residential areas, increasing the risk of infection.
Kumedzro urged residents to maintain clean surroundings and properly dispose of household waste. She cautioned against dumping refuse into open drains, explaining that the practice can block water channels and worsen flooding during heavy rainfall.
Residents were also encouraged to cooperate with the spraying teams and follow all safety instructions issued during the exercise.
The participating institutions expect the region-wide campaign to improve sanitation, reduce pest populations and prevent possible disease outbreaks in flood-affected communities.
The exercise forms part of broader efforts by the Regional Coordinating Council, local assemblies and private sector partners to restore safe environmental conditions across the Volta Region.
Source: Omanghana
