A group representing thousands of trained but unemployed environmental health officers in Ghana is calling on the government to immediately post them to help contain a typhoid outbreak that has claimed several lives.
The Unposted Environmental Health Officers and Assistants Association of Ghana says the outbreak, which began in January, has affected over 10,233 people in the Oti Region, where a local chief and two former District Chief Executives are among the dead.
In a statement released on Monday, the association described the outbreak as a “preventable tragedy” and blamed it on longstanding neglect of the environmental health sector.
More than 3,600 graduates from Ghana’s Schools of Hygiene in Accra, Ho, and Tamale have not been posted since completing their training, despite growing concerns over poor sanitation and public health risks across the country.
“We hold the Government of Ghana accountable for this unfortunate situation,” the group said, warning that under-resourcing and delays in recruiting health personnel had left communities vulnerable to outbreaks of typhoid, cholera, and malaria.
The association cited poor waste disposal, inadequate screening of food vendors, and a lack of frontline health officers as key contributing factors.
The group welcomed recent comments by Kwabena Oti Bless, chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Water and Sanitation, who proposed raising the sanitation levy and converting the Environmental Health Directorate into a fully-fledged authority. However, they cautioned that such proposals must go beyond “political talk”.
They are urging the Ministries of Local Government, Health, and Chieftaincy, as well as regional and district authorities, to work together to provide the financial clearance needed for their immediate posting.
“As professionals, we are ready and willing to supplement the efforts of the overburdened officers currently on the field,” the statement said.
The association reaffirmed its commitment to supporting national sanitation efforts and vowed to continue advocating for the rights of environmental health workers.
