For many, with the rise in Cholera in other parts of the country with Cape Coast recording about 400 cases, the hygienic conditions of communities would have been given serious attention.
However, in Bolgatanga Zongo, the unsanitary conditions under which people live is alarming and very worrying and a threat to the health of the people.
In the heart of the area standS a refuse dump and a refuse container. The dump and the container are surrounded by houses with occupants. The container has been full according to residents for over a week but has not been emptied.
A resident who gave his name as Shaibu in a chat with The Independent Newspaper said he has been living in the area for over two years and that although several efforts have been made to find a better place for a refuse dump, the efforts have been unsuccessful.
He mentioned that because his house is close to the refuse dump, he literally eats refuse every day because the bad stench emanating from the refuse dump always enters his food. Shaibu added that he has to buy air freshener on a weekly basis or have to vacate his room due to the bad stench.
Ironically, regardless of the location of the refuse dump and the stench emanating from it, a young lady sells what we call in the local parlance, Hausa Koko which is highly patronized by residents of the area.
Asked why she was selling very close to the refuse dump, the lady who sounded unconcerned about the health implications of her act said “where should I send it to? I have been selling here for a long time so I cannot change.”
Like this woman, there are other shops selling groceries very close to this same refuse dump unconcerned about the implication of the implication of their act on the health of the people.
Poor Drainage System
Apart from the location of the refuse dump in the area, the area also has a poor drainage system.
According to Shaibu, water from bathrooms from houses stagnate and breed mosquitoes in the area; a worrying situation he said they have complained about on several occasions but their complaint have yielded no results.
He said although some houses have tried to rectify this by collecting the water after they bath, some have been adamant and are punishing them with mosquito bites.
Open Defecation
The Open defecation menace is prevalent in this part of the Upper East Regional capital. Most residents resort to using the refuse dump as their toilet facility.
Shaibu noted his landlord just started building a toilet facility in the house although he has been staying in there for about two years now. He mentioned that the situation is the same in most of the houses in the area. He disclosed that that is the situation in most of the houses in the Zongo community and that just a few houses have toilet facilities adding that they resort to just one KVIP in the area.
“As for here, we don’t have a toilet here. Just about four houses have a toilet here. You see, my landlord just started building a toilet although I have stayed here for about two years. People here use the one KVIP that is in this area and only about four houses have a toilet in their houses.”
As to what they do at night when they are pressed Shaibu said “we free ourselves just here on the ‘Borla’ because the KVIP is far from our house.”
Though worrying, Regional Focal Person of the Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate, Mr. Asayuure Juventius in an interview with a1radioonline.com said, although the Assembly bye-laws make it compulsory for houses to build toilet facilities, his outfit is handicapped in enforcing this law because of influence from opinion and political leaders hence making the fight against open defecation very difficult.
He, however, was optimistic that with the education ongoing, people especially landlords will see the need to build toilet facilities in their houses.
Residents in the Bolgatanga Zongo community until something is done will continue to reel under these unsanitary conditions and be prone to the diseases such as Cholera and Malaria.
By: Offei-Akoto Ayeh/A1RADIOONLINE.COM/GHANA
