Ada West District authorities ban serving of food and drinks at funerals to curb spread of cholera

The serving of foods and drinks at funerals have been banned by authorities in Ada West.

The decision is one of the interventions being adopted by the District Security Council following the outbreak of cholera cases in the district.

The district is one of the 29 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Greater Accra Region. The Ghana Health Service on October 11, declared the outbreak of the disease in the Ada West and East districts with Ada East recording the highest number of cases and the West recording one case. These cases were reported within the coastal communities of the districts.

So far, the Ada West District has recorded four cases and as part of measures to contain the spread of infection, the District Security Coordinating Council has resorted to banning the sharing of food and drinks at funeral events.

District Chief Executive of Ada West, Sampson Tetteh said the fundamental issues happen to be the lack of water supply to the areas and so the community water agency is working assiduously to resolve the issue in due time.

In the meantime, the assemblies are supplying the communities with water from tankers who go to the town centers and fill a designated Polytank for residents’ use while public health campaigns in affected areas are also ongoing.

“We are encouraging them to practice personal hygiene. The Veronica Buckets are also being used. We share sanitizers as well. So far, we have only four cases and I am sure none will come again. We started the ban on the sharing of foods at funerals last weekend and we have the police going round to ensure there is compliance.

We are also intensifying ‘Operation Clean Your Frontage’ and communal labour. We are liaising with all the various stakeholders to ensure the disease is contained. We have put structures in place.” He explained

According to the DCE, the District Security Coordinating Council will re-convene in the coming days to review the interventions.

He is also hopeful the completion of the Agenda 111 facility in the district will help them in their healthcare delivery.

Source:onuaonline.com