PUC Lecturer calls for social mobilization in the fight against sanitation

The Head of Physician Assistantship Department of Pentecost University College, Dr. Ebenezer Appiah-Denkyira, has called on stakeholders to actively get involved in tackling the waste management and sanitation problem in Ghana.

Presenting a paper on the topic Sanitation in Ghana: Lessons from the past and the way forward on Day 1 of the 2019/2020 Reading Week and Colloquium held at the Phase 2 Auditorium of the University, the former Director-General of Ghana Health Service called for an effective mobilization and social action from all relevant stakeholders to address the sanitation problem.

Dr. Appiah-Denkyira said the deployment of appropriate technologies and effective social action through attitudinal change remains the key to curbing the social menace of sanitation in Ghana.

Giving participants an overview of sanitation reforms in Ghana, Dr. Appiah- Denkyira said although the colonial governments made good efforts in addressing the menace, it has continued to live with us and escalate by the day.

He expressed worry that though successive governments after independence have put in measures to address the situation yet the negative attitudes of Ghanaians continue to hinder the fight against the sanitation menace.

He highlighted that government through financing the various Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) and the National Sanitation Day have yielded some considerable results, but there was more to be done.

He has, therefore, called on the political leadership to garner the strong will to punish offenders.

The Chairperson for Day 1, Prof. Festus Adzaku commended all the presenters for their insightful presentations. He was hopeful that the University will be proactive in championing the fight against sanitation as well as take the lead in advancing the call for social action and mobilization in order to end the menace.