Residents of Chorkor, a coastal community in the Greater Accra Region, have expressed concern over poor sanitation conditions in the area, citing choked gutters and open defecation as major contributors to flooding and disease outbreaks.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Andrews Nii Armah, a fisherman, said rainwater often washed refuse into gutters, which were also used as dumping sites by some residents.

Armah noted that the situation caused waste to overflow into homes and businesses, causing serious health risks.

“We have complained severally about this gutter, but nothing has been done. The gutter starts from Kaneshie, passes through our community, pollutes our environment, and ends up in the sea, causing serious environmental damage,” he said.

Naa Lamiley, a resident, also expressed concern about the worsening situation, stressing that both human activities and rainfall contributed to the poor state of sanitation in the area, which continued to deteriorate.

Naa Shika, a fishmonger, admitted that some residents contributed to the problem through indiscriminate waste disposal.

“When it rains, we dump rubbish into the gutters, which causes blockages, creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes and increases the risk of diseases,” and called for behavioral change among the citizenry to avert the worsening situation.

Emmanuel Bodua, a staff nurse at the Presbyterian Hospital, Aburi, explaining the implication of such poor sanitation, said insanitary conditions posed serious health risks, including the spread of diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and diarrhoea.

Bodua noted that poor sanitation contributed to thousands of deaths annually and was a major cause of malnutrition and diarrhoeal diseases among children under five.

Citing data from UNICEF, he said, poor sanitation was linked to stunted growth and underweight conditions in children.

Mr Bodua called for intensified hygiene education, including regular handwashing with soap and clean water at homes, schools, and health facilities.

He also urged authorities to provide safe, private, and hygienic toilet facilities to help address the sanitation challenges.