Cholera and Ebola Virus Disease in Ghana

Abstract

The first case of cholera in Ghana was in a Togolese national in transit at the Kotoka international Airport from Guinea.2 Two of the worst hit sites in Ghana, subsequently, were the fishing villages of Akplabanya (in the then Ada District) and Nyanyano (Winneba District). Cholera in these areas appeared to have been “smuggled in” by relatives of dead Ghanaian fishermen from Togo and Guinea, respectively, for burial despite a sanitary cordon on Ghana’s borders. Attempts at controlling cholera were not successful because the needed long term approaches, such as potable water supply, proper disposal of solid waste etc. were not implemented. Cholera is now endemic with cyclical epidemics. These epidemics are now predictable but sanitary reforms have been inactive, ineffective and local authorities have failed in applying necessary bye-laws on food hygiene, sanitation, environmental health and waste disposal. Cholera in Ghana is an urban problem with high impact on the urban poor. The unprecedented unregulated growth of urban areas has resulted in poor environmental conditions, lack of access to clean potable water and excruciating challenges in waste disposal. Urban authorities need to re-examine their strategies with a focus on explicitly pro-poor community-led orientation3 to provide lasting solutions to the now nearly annual epidemics of cholera.