Cecilia Dapaah speaking with the traders
Minister of Sanitation & Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has urged traders across markets in Ghana to ensure the safety of foods they sell to the public by regularly washing their hands before touching such foods.
She made the appeal on the occasion of the 2018 Global Handwashing Day celebration held at Agbogbloshie market on Monday, October 15 in Accra.
Speaking on the theme for this year’s celebration dubbed: ‘Clean Hands – A Recipe for Health,’ the minister observed that it is important for market women and men to realise that they have a critical role to play in promoting good hygiene in Ghana.
“You will agree with me that as busy people in our markets, especially those of you who deal in the food and foodstuffs, you have a very critical role to play in ensuring our food is safe, you are expected to contribute to the total health and wellbeing of the larger population,” she indicated.
She told the traders that “it is important to throw more light on this year’s theme and its relationship with food and hygiene. Handwashing is an important part of hygienic practices that keep food safe and prevent food related illnesses.”
Madam Dapaah explained that “the contamination of food items with faecal matter can easily occur if you do not have the habit of automatic handwashing with soap and water.”
“Food-borne illnesses are major causes of death particularly among children under five years. Up to 70 per cent of cases of diarrhoeal may be associated with poor food hygiene. The negative effect of under nutrition due to poor food hygiene during the first 1,000 days of physical growth immune system and brain development may be irreversible,” the minister added.
Thus, she charged the traders that “when washing hands note the following; get water and soap, cover wet hands with soap, rub palms together, wash in between fingers, under finger nails, back of hands, rinse well with clean water preferably under running water, dry hands with clean cloth.”
BY Melvin Tarlue