ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SANITATION UNIT
The Environmental Health and Sanitation Unit of the Upper Denkyira East Municipal Assembly is the body responsible for the promotion and protection of the health of the populace of the municipality. It is the responsibility of the Department to ensure that factors in the environment that are likely to be offensive or injurious to health are controlled, minimized or totally eliminated. The Department carries out these responsibilities and functions to maintain a healthy environment in partnership with other stakeholders.
The Environmental Health Officers have range of powers available to them, including providing advice and education, issuing notices, closure of business due to imminent risk to public health and prosecution where necessary. The Sanitary Inspectors have the power to visit any premises at any reasonable time.
Generally, an Environmental Health Officer/ Sanitary Inspector may issue advice verbally, then follow up with written communication. After that, the Officers will provide support and guidance if Officers feel there is room for improvement.
To aid an investigation of sanitary case at the law court, the Sanitary Inspector can take samples and photographs as evidence. The Officers can seize or detain any food suspected of being unfit for sale or consumption.
Some of our duties as Environmental Health Officers are as follows:
- Inspecting businesses for health and safety and food hygiene standards.
- Investigating complaints and outbreaks of food poisoning, infectious disease notifications and pest infestations.
- Investigating accidents in the workplace.
- Educate and inform residents of the district on sanitation and personal hygiene.
- Facilitate regular inspection of the district for the detection of nuisance of any condition likely to be offensive or injurious to human health.
- Enforcing regulations and giving evidence in court.
- Monitor the activities of the operators and report the Municipal Assembly.
- Assist to establish, maintain and carry out the removal and disposal of refuse, filth and carcasses of dead animals from any public place.
- Assist to establish, maintain and carry out services for removal and treatment of liquid waste by private sector, persons authorized or licensed by the Municipal Assembly.
- Facilitate in the disposal of dead bodies found in the Municipality.
- Advise on the establishment and maintenance of cemeteries and crematoria.
- Advise and encourage the keeping of animals in the Municipality including horses, Cattle, sheep and goats, domestic pets and poultry.
- Advise on the prevention of the spreading and extermination of tsetse fly, mosquitoes, rats, bugs, and other vermin in the Municipality.
- Assist in the control of noise, odour, dust, and smoke pollution.
- Assist to regulate any trade or business which may be harmful or injurious to public
- health or a source of danger to the public or which otherwise is in the public interests to regulate.
- Assist in the efficient management of clinical care, community health care and environmental health service in the municipal infrastructure, to clean the municipal hospital, clinics and so on.
- Assist in the prevention and dealing with the outbreak and prevalence of any diseases.
- Assist to provide, maintain, supervise and control slaughterhouses and related services.
- Facilitate collection and analysis of data on environmental health and sanitation issues.
- Promote and encourage good environmental health and sanitation.
- Facilitate in the organization of clean up exercises in the municipality.
- Community Led-Total Sanitation implementation and compliance.
- Disinfection and Disinfestation and so on.
