Dome Market, A Health Hazard

While we are faced with Cholera and the threat of Ebola we are tasked to be more conscience about our environment and aspects that are likely to contribute to an increased risk of becoming infected by these health hazards.

In Ghana we have failed in managing our environment and the result of failure is all around us, in our gutters and on our roads and very unfortunately in our market places. 

The Netherlander Embassy in Ghana quoted the Ghana health service on the current spread of cholera in the country as referenced below.

REPORTS FROM THE GHANA HEALTH SERVICE INDICATE THAT THE CURRENT CHOLERA OUTBREAK STARTED IN SEPTEMBER LAST YEAR IN THE CENTRAL REGION AND IT’S KEPT SPREADING AND KILLING PEOPLE. FIVE REGIONS ARE CURRENTLY INFECTED AND THEY INCLUDE, GREATER ACCRA, CENTRAL, EASTERN, UPPER WEST AND THE NORTHERN REGIONS. THE REPORTED INFECTED CASE ARE ABOUT 5,308 AND THESE FIGURES ARE RISING BY THE DAY, A TOTAL OF 67 DEATHS HAS SINCE BEEN REPORT GIVING A DEATH RATE OF 1.5%. 

With this in mined I took a walk down to my local market "Dome" where those in the immediate and surrounding catchment area regularly shop. Dome is only 20 minutes drive from the Capital Accra and serves middle class residential estates such as CFC, Parakuo and a few more. However on the ground, the state and condition in the market begs the question should all the food products not be considered contaminated, and a such quarantined and destroyed in our fight to reduce the spread of cholera. 

There are authorities tasked to manage the affairs of our environment such as the EPA environmental protection agency. the health ministry and many more, in the market it self, they have the market queen, whose role it is to manage and maintain the market to a standard befitting of a place food items are sold. 

As it is often said, a picture is worth a thousand words and on that basis I leave you the reader to make up your own mind on the effectiveness of the current conditions in Dome market in tackling the cholera epidemic.

Click the images to enlarge and scroll.