The Unposted Environmental Health Officers and Assistants Association of Ghana renewed its call for government to recruit its members, insisting that the level of destruction caused by Monday’s rains could have been prevented if they were employed.
In a statement issued on July 1, 2026, the Association extended condolences to families who lost loved ones and to those whose properties were destroyed in the flooding.
It argued that the deaths and destruction were a result of years of neglect of the environmental health profession, warning that poor attention to sanitation has fed into weak waste management and indiscriminate littering — both of which, it says, worsen the risk of flooding.
The Association noted that environmental health officers, popularly known as “tankas” in the assemblies, are central to sanitation management and public health.
It said graduates from Ghana’s three Schools of Hygiene have remained unemployed for more than five years despite being trained and ready to work.
The failure to recruit fewer than 4,000 qualified graduates, it said, has placed extra strain on environmental health and sanitation units nationwide.
The Association called on the Presidency, the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance to act immediately to employ the unposted officers, saying it would strengthen sanitation units and help reduce the risk of similar disasters going forward.
It reaffirmed its commitment to pushing for better sanitation services in Ghana, while expressing solidarity with all those affected by the floods.
The statement was signed by the Association’s General Secretary, Awine Fred Atinga.
