MOH screens food vendors

Nkoranza (B/A) Jan. 31, GNA - The Nkoranza District office of the Environmental Health Division of the Ministry of Health has medically screened about 700 food vendors in the district to guarantee their fitness to sell food to the public in order to prevent the outbreak of epidemics in the communities.

The District Environmental Health Division Officer Mr. Daniel Agyarko announced this when he briefed the Ghana News Agency (GNA) about the programmes and activities his outfit went through last year. Mr. Agyarko said the exercise has really promoted environmental sanitation among the food vendors as they were educated to ensure to operate in a more decent environment and also prepare their needs under the required hygienic ways and with all the necessary food nutrients. He said the officers from the Division also supervised the activities and work of the butchers in the district to ensure that they slaughter healthy animals fit for consumption by the public to save the lives of the people.

In Nkoranza township, about 755 cattle were slaughtered while over 600 goats and sheep were also slaughtered during the period under review.

Mr. Agyarko said in order to maintain a high standard of hygienic practices among hotel and guest house operators, officers from the division made regular visits to the hotels and guest houses in the district to keep the managers of the places on track.

Noranza district was adjudged the cleanest district in the country last year and in appreciation of such record and to boost the morale of the people the Government has presented sanitary tools worth over 20 million cedis to the district assembly to continue with the promotion of good sanitation in the district.

The District Environmental Health Officer expressed concern about how livestock owners allow their animals to stray in the communities and cautioned that his outfit would take very serious and stringent measures to check the negative practices and attitudes of the people concerned and to arrest them for prosecution at the court.

He announced plans to discourage the practice of crude refuse dumping whereby the people heap refuse at particular areas in the communities and they pile up as hills, a practice which could easily cause the outbreak of epidemics.

Mr. Agyarko expressed concern about the lack of motorbikes for officers in his outfit and therefore, pleaded with the Government to provide them with means of transport to facilitate their movements.