Health Officers Lay Down Tools On Burial Of COVID-19 Dead Bodies.

The Environmental Health Officers Alliance-Ghana ( EHOA-GH) says they have laid down their tools on the burial of all COVID-19 Dead Bodies across Country.

According to them, over One(1) year now all COVID19 dead bodies buried in this Country by Environmental Health Practitioners all over the Country in some Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) lack the needed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Hearse and other incentives which had already been given to their counterparts in the Ghana Health Service (GHS).

Raising their concerns, a statement signed by National President of EHOA-GH, Yaw Akwaa Laretey indicated that the Environmental Health Practitioners who are 100% health workers working under the Local Government Service (LGS) had not been part of all trainings and workshops which were organized by the Ministry of Health (Ghana Health Service) in all the Sixteen (16) Regions”.

Consequent to that, “With much grieve and sorrow we EHOA-GH from this Wednesday of August 18, 2021 have laid down our tools on the burial of all COVID-19 Dead Bodies in this Country until all needed Resources are given by the key actors in this COVID-19 Pandemic Era that’s the Ministry of Health (MoH) for that matter Ghana Health Service (GHS)”.

It said, “it saddens our hearts at this critical moment on why the Government of Ghana, specifically H. E. The President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will neglect the only Public Health Law Enforcement Agents who are mandated by Section 14 of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (ACT 936) with Amendment (ACT 940)  and E. I. 4 of 1976 in discharge of our mandated duties or job descriptions.

“We EHOA-GH want to state on record without any fear or favour reference to Article 191 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana and some Sections of the Labour Act, 2003 (ACT 651) that we have withdrawn our Services as enshrined in the Section 50 clause (c) of the Public Health Act, 2012 (ACT 851) with immediate effect”.

EHOA-GH cautioned all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives and any other person in the MMDAs who will try to victimize any of our members on all COVID- 19 Burials contrary to Article 191 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana will have the full forces of the Association descending on such a person without any fear or favour, the statement.

EHOA-GH Executives therefore entreated all Environmental Health Practitioners in all the 260 MMDAs to stay calm as Executives engage Government on the way forward in the discharge of their duties on this highly infectious Virus COVID-19 Dead Bodies burials in our Country Ghana.