The Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Mr. Asampong has called on Ghanaians to desist from acts which negatively affect the environment in order to avoid diseases. Speaking at the 9th edition of the Environmental Film Festival said that “our inability to manage the environment properly is exposing us to all kinds of health problems.” According to him, our actions based on how we dispose of waste affect our life and health. “Various studies have been done that links health and the environment. In 2006 there were studies that indicated that water pollution cause about 14,000 deaths per day worldwide mainly from contaminated water from untreated sewage in developing countries. If this is the figure for developing countries then I am sure ours will be even more disturbing because we tend to put every waste into our water bodies” he said. He further stated “globally indoor air pollution, from solid fuel use, is accountable for nearly 2million deaths annually with 30% of it coming from Sub- Saharan Africa.” He added that “in Ghana 87% of the population, rely on crude fuel which leads to 5000 premature deaths each year it also accounts for 2.2 percent of disease deaths that is only from air pollution.” He noted that apart from the impact it has on our health, “pollution also has the potential to affect the way the environment behaves.” “It is estimated that the cost of environmental degradation in Ghana constitutes about, 5.5% to 10% of our annual GDP. He indicated that we need to change our attitude as Ghanaians towards the environment and adopt more sustainable practices in order to keep the environment for the next generation as well as avoid diseases.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 20:23:16 +0000
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