The Rotary Club of Ho has launched a sanitation award scheme in response to the insanitary environmental practices across communities in the region.

It has also inaugurated a Health and Sanitation task force to complement the effort of government and stakeholders to deal with the many preventable diseases such as cholera, malaria, diarrhea among others.

Mr Rockson Dogbegah, President of the Ho Rotary Club, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that under the project members would embark on periodic health and sanitation sensitization programmes, organize clean-up campaigns and recommend the cleanest communities and key individuals and groups for awards.

He said the award scheme would complement the overall health sanitation Project of the Rotary Club of Ho in collaboration with various stakeholders.

The awards dubbed the ‘Rotary Cleanest District and Electoral Area Award,’ is intended to cover the 25 Municipalities and Districts in the region.

However, it will start with a pilot project focused on the Ho Municipality with the cleanest electoral areas in the municipality getting awards.

Mr Dogbegah said the selection criteria would include the ability of the District Chief Executive, the Municipal Chief Executive and Assembly members to mobilize citizens and stakeholders and ability of the Environmental and Sanitation Directorate to monitor, strategize and implement programs to improve cleanliness and good sanitary conditions.

Other areas include commitment to Sanitation and cleanliness, ability to enforce by-laws and other laws governing sanitation, health and cleanliness, general neatness and hygienic scenery of the area.

Individuals that have distinguished themselves in maintaining cleanliness could also be identified and recognized

To ensure effective monitoring, Mr Dogbegah said Rotary would form a task force which would include representatives from the Environmental and Sanitation Unit and the Disease Surveillance and Control Units of the Ghana Health Service to monitor and evaluate the Districts/Assembly areas to ensure they are maintaining cleanliness.

The task force will also have a jury to evaluate the districts/assembly areas for the award.

Areas that have distinguished themselves would receive citation and a Plaque as well as cleaning equipment; wheel Barrows and standing brooms.