A group of trained but unposted Environmental Health Officers and Assistants is appealing to the government for immediate financial clearance and recruitment to support Ghana’s ongoing sanitation efforts.
The call follows President John Dramani Mahama’s recent directive to Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to establish district sanitation task forces and mobilise communities for the enforcement of sanitation laws and the organisation of clean-up campaigns.
In a statement, the group commended the President’s renewed focus on sanitation but raised concerns about the effectiveness of these initiatives amid the continued unemployment of more than 3,600 graduates from the country’s three Schools of Hygiene — Accra, Ho, and Tamale — since 2021.
“These directives are commendable, but without adequate staffing, they cannot be effectively implemented,” the group noted.
They emphasised that Environmental Health Officers are the only licensed professionals mandated to enforce sanitation regulations, yet four cohorts of trained officers have remained unemployed for over four years.
The group is urging key stakeholders — including the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development; the Ministry of Health; the Ministry of Finance; and Parliament’s Select Committee on Water and Sanitation — to urgently prioritise their recruitment.
They also called on regional ministers, MMDCEs, traditional leaders, and faith-based institutions to support their plea, stressing the essential role Environmental Health Officers play in disease prevention and public health promotion.
“We stand ready to serve and help prevent sanitation-related disease outbreaks,” the statement said.
“All we need is the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to building a cleaner, safer Ghana.”
