The Upper East Regional branch of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has launched an environmental sanitation campaign project with a call on stakeholders to deliver on their mandate to achieve environmental cleanliness.

It is in line with the GJA’s vision of complementing government’s effort at increasing awareness on the effects of bad sanitation practices on the socioeconomic development of the nation.

Earlier in the day, the GJA led a massive clean-up exercise in the Bolgatanga Municipality and was being supported by Madam Tangoba Abayage, the Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Amiyuure, the Municipal Chief Executive, personnel from the Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Nation Builders Corps (NaBCo), and the Military among others.

Mrs Linda Asante-Adjei, the National Vice President, GJA, stated that the Association, in collaboration with the Environmental Service Providers Association, and Zoomlion Ghana Limited, is implementing a two-year sanitation campaign under the theme: “Media for Improved Environmental Sanitation, Behavioural Change and Compliance.”

The project, which would be facilitated by the various media, would educate the public on the need to change attitudes towards the environment and adopt good sanitation practices.

Mrs Asante-Adjei said bad sanitation practices posed threats to health and adversely affected the development of the country as the human resource base needed to be healthy to contribute significantly.

She called on journalists to use their wider coverage and influence to intensify education and advocacy to make people appreciate the need to keep the environment clean.

She indicated that environmental cleanliness was the responsibility of every Ghanaian and, therefore, the need for all stakeholders to clean their environment without expecting the sanitation agencies to undertake such exercises.

Mr Eric Kwadjo Amoh, the Regional Chairman of the GJA, noted that the by-laws of the various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies were ineffective making people to dispose of waste indiscriminately, posing health risks to the public.

He called on the leadership of the assemblies to crack the whip to serve as deterrent to the people who engaged in bad sanitation practices.

Mr Amoh urged the various environmental and sanitation agencies to support the advocacy project to make it succeed.

Madam Abayage observed that Ghanaians portrayed negative attitudes towards issues of the environment and urged the media to be ambassadors by creating awareness on the risks associated with poor sanitation.

She expressed regret at how some people could sit in filth to do businesses and tasked the various assemblies to enforce the by-laws to ensure people did the right thing.

The GJA later presented 10 dust-bins to the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly to support the proper disposal of waste.