Nadowli (UW/R), Sept. 4, GNA - The Nadowli District Assembly in the Upper West region has ordered all private estates developers and institutions to provide places of convenience and other sanitary facilities in their buildings.

The assembly will not relent in its efforts in ensuring adherence to this order.

Mrs Pauline Ningkpeng, Nadowli District Chief Executive announced during the regional launch of Environmental and Sanitation Week at Nadowli on Friday.

She said the assembly would statutorily declare the first Saturday of every month as a community's clean-up day.

The DCE said a task force would also be constituted to monitor the programme and recommend awards and sanctions accordingly to motivate and sustain the exercise.

She called on the regional environmental health officer to consider posting additional officers to the district to be able to cover all other towns in the district, since ther are only 16 of them throughout the district.

Mr Sahanun Mogtari, Upper West Regional Minister who launched the programme urged the environmental health workers to use persuasive language in educating the people on unsanitary conditions and not use force.

The implementation and enforcement of environmental health and sanitation programmes have been characterised by the use of force rather than by persuading and educating the public.

Mr Mogtari said the government spends so much on curative services for diseases, which could have been prevented and called on health workers to intensify educational programmes on the national health insurance scheme.

I wish to draw your attention to the fact that, we must all play our part to ensure the prevention of diseases and promotion of an increase in our life span.

Mr Laskasas Bayuo, Regional Environmental Health Officer said his outfit would intensify radio educational programmes to ensure that people all over the region were convinced to adopt the new trends. He said they would collaborate and consult a lot of individuals and organisations to ensure that the sanitation programme was successful. We shall also make sure that adequate by-laws were instituted to ensure that the public adheres strictly to the orders.