Mr John Baidoo, Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Development Focus (SUDEF), Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) NGO, has advised residents within Newmont Ghana Gold Limited in the Ahafo catchment area against spraying weedicides around water bodies in order not to contaminate their sources of drinking water.

In addition, they should maintain good and safe environmental sanitation around their water sources. Mr Baidoo gave the advice at a training workshop organized for 26 participants drawn from 13 communities within the mine-catchment area on ‘Community Drinking Water Disinfection Strategies’ at Ntotroso in the Asutifi District of the Brong Ahafo Region.

It was to create awareness, educate and train them on Community Water Disinfection. There was discussion on ‘Water-borne diseases’, such as typhoid, cholera and hepatitis ‘B,’ and how to prevent them. He observed that about 80 per cent of diseases treated at health facilities are water and sanitation-related.

Mr Joseph Danso, Executive Secretary of Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation (NADeF), advised the participants to take good care of their water supply systems and manage them effectively.

Mrs Elizabeth Opoku-Darko, Community Development Superintendent of Newmont-Ahafo, encouraged the participants to involve women in the planning, implementation and monitoring of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programmes in their communities.

She observed that women need more water than men since they use a lot of water for their household chores. Mr Moro Mohammed, Course Prefect, expressed appreciation for the knowledge acquired to improve the living standards of the participants. They were presented with disinfection test kits and certificates of participation.