By Emmanuella Owusu, GNA
Tema, June 20, GNA – The Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), through its Environmental Health Department, has intensified sanitation education and clean-up exercises in schools within the metropolis to help reduce the incidence of food-borne diseases.
The initiative, aimed at instilling good sanitation habits among schoolchildren, complements the monthly National Sanitation Day exercises and promotes continuous cleanliness in schools rather than limiting sanitation activities to a once-a-month exercise.
Mrs. Bridget Seyram Diapim, the Tema Metropolitan Director of Public Health, said public schools had become a major focus of the exercise due to the sanitation challenges confronting many of them.
Speaking during a clean-up exercise organised by the department, she said the initiative adopted a two-pronged approach of educating pupils on proper waste disposal, personal hygiene and handwashing, while supporting schools to clean their compounds and properly manage refuse.
Mrs. Diapim said the department was also monitoring food vendors operating within school premises to ensure adherence to food safety and hygiene standards.
She explained that food vendors undergo thorough medical screening before being issued medical certificates to certify their fitness to prepare and sell food to the public.
“When you are certified medically to cook food for public consumption, that does not end there. The environment in which you operate must equally be clean,” she said.
She said food vendors were regularly educated on proper food storage, protection of food from contamination by dust and flies, and the maintenance of hygienic surroundings.
Mrs. Diapim cautioned vendors that the health and well-being of schoolchildren, many of whom have low immunity, depended largely on their commitment to food safety practices.
She warned that persons who failed to comply with sanitation directives after receiving abatement notices could face legal action.
“If you fail or refuse to abate any identified nuisance after being issued an abatement notice, you will be processed for court,” she stated.
Mrs. Diapim further urged residents to pay greater attention to personal and hand hygiene, stressing that maintaining a clean environment was a shared responsibility crucial to safeguarding lives and property, particularly during the rainy season.
GNA
Edited by Laudia Anyorkor Nunoo/Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Emmanuella Owusu, GNA