Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a waste management company, has commenced a disinfestation and fumigation exercise in all 33 Municipal and District Assemblies in the Eastern Region.
The exercise, which started last Friday and is being carried out by the company's Vector Control Unit in collaboration with the assemblies, is expected to end on September 30.
It forms part of Zoomlion's corporate social responsibility initiatives, aimed at preventing the outbreak of cholera, malaria, typhoid and other water-related infections following the recent floods that hit several communities in the region. The mass spraying exercise is being carried out at markets, lorry parks, places of convenience, refuse container sites and containers, to eliminate pathogens, control disease vectors and reduce disease-causing organisms in such places.
Briefing the media to kick-start the exercise at Agartha Market in Koforidua, the Eastern Regional Manager of Zoomlion, Cynthia Gbadago, said the exercise was in response to the floods that had hit the entire country, particularly the Eastern Region. She said the company had already educated market women and residents in the affected areas on the exercise to ensure food and drinking water were properly covered as part of the safety measures, and urged them not to dump refuse indiscriminately, especially in drainage systems, to help prevent disease outbreaks in the region.
The Eastern Regional Environmental Officer, Prince Osei Kissi, commended Zoomlion, saying the company had partnered with the assemblies to promptly resolve sanitation issues. He assured that his outfit would continue to support the company in carrying out the exercise to rid the communities of water-borne diseases.
At the Agartha Market in Koforidua, a trader, Georgina Agbesi, said she was hopeful the fumigation exercise would get rid of insects. Another trader, Afia Adutwumwaa, appealed to government to provide places of convenience for the markets.
