Victims of the Akosombo and Kpong dam spill brace for cholera and typhoid

Public health emergencies have been proclaimed in the districts of North Tongu, South Tongu, and Central Tongu. This is due to the increasing risk of cholera, typhoid fever, and other waterborne illnesses in the sections of the Volta Region that have experienced flooding. Akosombo

Following the downpour brought on by the spilling from the Akosombo and Kpong dams, malaria rates are also predicted to rise sharply in the impacted districts.

In an exclusive interview in Mepe yesterday, Dr. Senanu Kwesi Djokoto, the Regional Director of Public Health, revealed this.

“At this time, there is a risk to public health, and in order to contain the situation, we must activate all public health emergency mechanisms,” he stated. Akosombo

He issued a warning, saying that women, children, and the elderly would be the most affected if something wasn’t done right away. Akosombo

According to Dr. Djokoto, the Rapid Response Team and the Regional Public Health Emergency Operations Centre have been notified about the issue thus far.

To coordinate all disaster-related actions, the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) has established emergency operations centers in North Tongu, the district most affected.

According to Dr. Djokoto, the case management team had determined that Battor Catholic Hospital had an isolation center in place.

He claimed that there was a severe mobilization of non-medical commodities and medications in the impacted areas.

Dr. Djokoto stated that a sizable number of medical personnel had been sent to the impacted areas, but he would not say how many. Akosombo

Obstacles

Among the difficulties facing efforts to handle the crisis, he cited the dearth of suitable housing for displaced health personnel and the scarcity of drinkable water, particularly in the safe havens and badly affected regions.

Dr. Djokoto noted that another major obstacle to such efforts was the lack of proper sanitary conditions and facilities in the havens, particularly for children and female teenagers. Akosombo

As of last Monday, twenty cases of malaria, skin infections, and general body aches had been reported to the improvised clinic that was set up last Friday at St. Kizito Senior High School in Mepe.

Halten

People at Mepe are unable to cope with the foul smell coming from the badly contaminated floodwaters.

According to Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa, the regional minister, there were significant amounts of human waste from the communal pit latrines in the flood.

He promised that the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) and NADMO would keep collaborating to make sure the public had a sufficient quantity of drinkable water.

He pleaded with the populace to avoid drinking surface water in the localities.

Parliamentary probe

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the North Tongu Constituency, has demanded a parliamentary investigation of the Kpong and Akosombo dam spills, which have caused over 26,000 people to be displaced in the lower Volta Basin.

On the eve of the beginning of his Mobile Relief Caravan at Mepe, Mr. Ablakwa spoke with the Daily Graphic and stated that there were signs the Volta River Authority (VRA) would continue to spill more water, which would probably result in the displacement of even more communities and residents.

The MP said the VRA should be held accountable for the disaster and that the people should be made to receive compensation for their losses. “People must not get away with this so that there will be reforms in order that this does not recur,” Mr Ablakwa said. The Mobile Relief Caravan is a system designed by Mr Ablakwa to assist displaced persons in about 19 camps the MP had set up as a way of ameliorating the plight of the people. The North Tongu area, particularly Mepe, is the worst hit, with nearly 10,000 displaced as of last Monday. The relief caravan is expected to reach people who may not be able to access traditional relief distribution points, while also providing a more flexible and swift response to the crisis.

Livelihoods

The villages’ primary sources of income, farming, and fishing, have been negatively damaged by the rising water levels, which have ruined the majority of farmlands and are also quite high in Volta Lake.

According to the National Inland Canoe Fishermen Council, fishing is no longer possible in the current environment.

In an effort to lessen the strain on local resources, Mr. Ablakwa has arranged for the distribution of a relief package to the 19 camps that includes, among other things, bags of rice, maize, sugar, cooking oil, canned fish, mosquito nets, detergents, tissue paper, mosquito repellents, sanitary towels, and life jackets.

Responsibility

Mr. Ablakwa described the accident as preventable and stated that his office had begun gathering information on all impacted individuals and destroyed properties, which they were now quantifying to allow affected individuals and households to get compensation.

In order to increase agricultural productivity, he recommended that the nation consider a technical solution to the problem, one that would allow the spilled water to be used for irrigation.

“The people gave out their lands for the construction of two dams so we can have electricity to industrialize and create jobs, and yet till date have not received compensations, and spilling the dam to displace them from their homes further should not be a price they should pay for such a strategic national asset,” Mr Ablakwa said.

Instead, he said, the people ought to be receiving gratitude from the VRA instead of being chased out of their homes and being “dehumanized while the authority gets away with it”.

He said while the community lauded the President for his visit, it would be more appropriate to develop immediate plans to alleviate the plight of the people.

“We have a humanitarian crisis at hand and people need food, blankets, mosquito nets, water, and electricity. In times like this too, we should be talking about compensation plans for the victims, considering that it is not a natural disaster but rather a violation of the rights of the people by the VRA,” Mr. Ablakwa said.

He commended the resilience of the youth in the community in saving children, the aged, and women from being drowned in their homes.

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