Environmental Health: Standing With Science To Protect Communities – But Where Are The Scientists?

Every 26th of September, the world marks World Environmental Health Day, a day set aside by the International Federation of Environmental Health (IFEH) to celebrate the work of Environmental Health professionals.

For 2026, the theme is: “Environmental Health: Standing with Science to Protect Communities.” It is a timely and challenging theme.

This theme reaffirms a fundamental truth: environmental health is a science. It is not just about cleaning gutters. It is the science of disease prevention. It is the application of epidemiology, microbiology, toxicology, and food science to protect the public from cholera, typhoid, malaria, food poisoning, and non-communicable diseases linked to poor sanitation.

As Environmental Health Officers (EHOs), we are the frontline public health scientists who translate research into community safety.

But this year, as we celebrate, we must ask a critical question: How can Ghana stand with science to protect communities when the scientists are left at home?

The World Health Organization recommends one Environmental Health Officer for every 700 people. Ghana has a population of approximately 34 million people. By the WHO standard, we need 48,571 EHOs. Currently, Ghana has less than 5,000 EHOs at post across 261 MMDAs. One officer is serving over 6,800 people – ten times the recommended workload.

No science can function under such a strain. The result is predictable: recurrent cholera outbreaks, indiscriminate waste disposal, and poor food hygiene – all preventable.

Standing with science means using evidence-based decision making, investing in modern tools, and most importantly, investing in the human resource that drives the science.

There are currently fewer than 4,000 trained, licensed and unemployed Environmental Health graduates in Ghana. They are ready to serve. They are the science Ghana needs.

On this World Environmental Health Day 2026, I salute all EHOs who continue to sacrifice under difficult conditions. I also respectfully appeal to the Government of Ghana, the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Health to make this year’s theme a reality by posting trained Environmental Health graduates.

Posting these graduates will not only create employment; it will strengthen our health system, accelerate Ghana’s progress towards SDG 6, and save lives.

Let us stand with science by posting the scientists.

Emmanuel Korankye
Environmental Health Advocate
Accra – Ghana