Ghana has been battling illegal mining (galamsey)for years and though successive governments have promised to deal with the menace, little to no results have been yielded.

Several water bodies in the country have been destroyed by the activities of illegal miners in several parts of the country.

Foreigners and locals, men and women, both young and old, have joined in this business though several of them keep losing their lives in their search for gold.

The Ghana Water Limited has also warned that very soon, the country will need to import drinking water as its machines are incapable of treating the level of damage that has been caused to the water bodies.

But the worst is yet to occur as future generations who have no business with these activities have already started experiencing its effects.

Environmental journalist, Erastus Asare Donkor, in an interview on Newsfile on Saturday, September 7, 2024, revealed how babies in mining communities are being born with several defects.

According to him, research showed these deformities are connected to heavy metal contamination.

According to a report by myjoyonline.com, extra limbs and digits, malformed heads, and the absence of genitalia are some abnormalities that some of these babies, who don’t survive, are born with.

Erastus told the host of the show, Samson Anyenini that high levels of cyanide, arsenic, and mercury - toxic heavy metals that can have disturbing effects on fetal development were found when tests were carried out on the placenta of these infants, whose bodies are being kept in jars by a professor for research purposes.

The journalist said, "The one that I showed in my documentary has a malformed head. It doesn't have any genitals at all. So you don't know whether it's a baby. It's a baby boy or girl, and they found high levels of cyanide, arsenic and mercury in the placenta."

He added, "The pollution of the water sources there alone will confirm that indeed the women who died with their babies got into contact or got exposed to these heavy metals through the food chain."

Galamsey operations have resumed on a higher stake nationwide with several political personalities being named as being behind some of these activities, hence the failure of governments to deal with the menace.

ADG/ MA