The Environmental Sanitation Campaign under a student Industrial Attachment Programme was, yesterday, launched in Accra.

The programme which is under the theme: ‘Improved Sanitation: The Role of Students, Media and Stakeholders’ is a unique career pathfinder designed to help students find and develop their career pathways through attachment opportunities in organisations in Ghana while on vacation.

The main objective of this initiative is to expose students to the world of work during their internships and also to add their quota to the environmental sanitation in the communities in which they lived.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), Hon. Akwasi Opong-Fosu, indicated that, the MLGRD had prioritised environmental sanitation as a key deliverable area and that the launch of the initiative formed part of practical steps to ensure that cities and towns were clean and safe for economic activity.

The thinking behind this initiative, Mr Opong-Fosu said, was to help stop the perennial flooding and also break the chain of transmission of preventable diseases like cholera which had become an albatross hanging on the necks of the city.

He noted that, in spite of the efforts by the Local Authorities and individuals, the sanitation in the cities and towns still left much to be desired.

“Access and coverage of sanitation services are woefully lagging behind demand. Increase in population and modern lifestyles have made the situation even worse”, he added.

Hon. Opong-Fosu said it was disheartening to note that, the few bold ones who tried to stop their friends and neighbours from indulging in such acts of indiscipline were always verbally attacked.

According to him, cholera had become endemic in many parts of the country due to lack of basic sanitary practices and lack of public awareness among the populace.

He noted that, even though the various Metropolitan, Municipal District Assemblies(MMDAs) were doing their outmost best to solve the sanitation problems in the cities and towns, the poor attitude of the people towards the environment was seriously militating against all these good efforts.

In her opening remarks, the Chairperson, Dr Doris Yaa Dartey, called on the students to see this initiative as a great opportunity in order to impact positively on the sanitation menace in the country.

“We proudly say Ghana is the Gateway to West Africa, yet we cannot manage our sanitation effectively”, She added.
In his contribution, Mr Affail Monney, President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) urged the media to use their platform to promote environmental sanitation in the county.

Mr Monney said environmental sanitation in the county should be taken seriously, adding that is a collective responsibility.

Present at the launch were the Acting Head of the  Institute of Local Government Studies, Mr Callistus Mahama, the Deputy Minister of Ministry of Trade and Industry, Hon. Nii Lamptey Vanderpuye and a Deputy Information Minister,  Hon Murtala Muhammed.