Disinfection of containers, schools and markets to begin at the end of February – Minister of Health

Company News from Saturday, February 2, 2019

Source: LCB World Wide Ghana

2019-02-02

The government confirmed that disinfection of containers and goods in ports and at various points of entry and exit would begin in the 3rd week of February 2019.

The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, who gave the confirmation, said that everything was ready for disinfection and that the ministry was grateful and grateful to all stakeholders for their support, cooperation and contributions during consultation and commitments. the final deployment of the policy.

Mr. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu said the policy has been revised and expanded to cover the country's shopping centers and various high schools, with the aim of making it more beneficial to the country and its citizens.

The minister who visited the port of Tema to inspect the tunnels installed by LCB World Wide Ghana, the company hired by the government to undertake the disinfection exercise yesterday, February 1, 2019, said the decision of broadening the scope of policy to markets The various secondary schools in the country were born from the desire to improve the overall sanitation in the country while cleaning up the cities and ensuring that They remain free of diseases and infections.

"We are trying to add selected schools and markets to sanitize as part of our sanitation efforts to clean cities and our markets of dirt and disease. We do all of these things as part of our prevention mechanisms to try to make sure that we do not get sick so easily and that we do not have preventable diseases. So, when we disinfect, it's like we do not let infectious diseases enter. It's a sure way to protect our citizens against certain diseases we do not expect to contract, "he said.

According to the minister, student health has recently been affected by the invasion of bed bugs in different high schools. The plan is to rid schools of bed bugs and other diseases so students study in a clean and healthy environment free of diseases and infections.

Mr. Agyeman Manu described as disturbing the recent complaints of the Ghanaian educational service that the invasion of bed bugs in high schools was becoming more widespread and required urgent intervention, adding that the extension of the policy aimed to remedy this problem.

He said the market centers will be disinfected to allow traders to sell in a clean environment with decontaminated food and consumables, while buyers will have access to healthy, non-infected foods.

According to him, this policy will benefit all citizens of the country and ensure that they are protected and isolated from infectious diseases.

LCB Worldwide Ghana stated that its country was satisfied with the installation of the tunnels, noting that all the outstanding issues that led to the delay in the implementation of the policy had been resolved, including costs, Parliament's approval and stakeholder consultations.

The minister also said with satisfaction that his policy was about to begin, explaining that, even though it was slow in coming, Ghana has now joined the league of nations respecting this aspect of the World Health Regulations of the World Organization. of Health (WHO) (2005).

Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare, Director General of the Ghana Health Service, said, "It is the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 and it is for our personal good. We monitor and control diseases. So we have to control everything that goes into the country and, as you know, the world is a small village and everything that happens in other ports can happen in a matter of days or hours. That's why Port Health is here to make sure that everything entering our ports does not matter to us because they do not need a visa to enter the country. I am happy that Ghana is joining the international world. It's one of the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa to do it and it's a benefit for everyone. It will help everyone in this country. "

LCB World Wide Ghana Executive Director Kareem Abu, who led the minister and his team around the newly installed disinfection tunnels in Temasaid port, are the latest in the market and are comparable to those in New Zealand, from Japan and New Zealand. beyond.

He said the 7 state-of-the-art tunnels were installed at all exit points to service all cars, vans and trucks entering and exiting.

Stakeholders, including the Union of Traders of Ghana (GUTA) and the Association of Food and Beverage Industries, expressed their satisfaction with the level of commitment to implementation and agreed to the approved charges.

The Minister of Health was joined by the Director General of Ghana Health Service, Port Health Unit Leaders, representatives of the Ghana Merchants Association (GUTA) and officials of the Ghana Customs Agents Association (ACHAG). ), representatives of the Association of Importers and Exporters, the Food and Beverage Association of Ghana (FABAG) and the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority, among others.