Media urged to sensitize citizens on bad environmental practices

Mr Amidu Issahaku Chinnia, the Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, has urged media practitioners to help educate citizens on bad environmental practices to prevent water and sanitation related diseases as well as preserve the environment.

He said many efforts put in place to prevent people from defecating openly, indiscriminate cutting of trees and bush burning have yielded no positive results, hence the need for the media’s intervention towards achieving good environmental practices.

Mr Chinnia was addressing the Chiefs and people of Nandom Traditional Council during the celebration of the district-wide Open Defecation Free (ODF) status.

He said people spent huge sums of money in treating diseases caused by poor sanitation and noted that the media could help minimise that lost by educating their audience on the dangers associated with bad sanitation practices.

He pledged government support and that of development partners to make sure the region attained its set target of attaining ODF by 2021.

He added that the celebration of ODF would be meaningless if people were not free from terror attacks and cautioned chiefs to be security conscious He, however, cautioned the public to be vigilant and report any suspected terrorist activities to the security agencies following the arrest of two suspected terrorists from neighbouring Burkina Faso in Hamile.

He said more security personnel have been deployed to the borders of neighbouring countries but citizens must support them with information by reporting suspected terrorist activities to the police.

“The security agencies are monitoring the border towns of this region but you should support them to do their work well”, he said.

Ms Freda Natu, Regional Environmental Health Scientist urged residents of Nandom not to be complacent with the ODF achievement.

She urged them to work towards attaining a sanitized district to prevent water and sanitation illnesses.

She called on the other 10 districts in the region to emulate Nandom by preventing people from defecating in the open.

Nandom emerged the first District in Ghana to attain ODF status as part of government’s set target to end open defecation in the entire country by the end of 2020.