The government and the Ministry of Health are being urged by public health professionals to establish a public health agenda on illegal mining, or galamsey, and to thoroughly investigate all aspects of its impact on public health.
The experts say that the only way to combat the threats that galamsey poses to human health and the environment is to take a research-based approach to the disease.
Over the past few weeks, a number of professional and religious organisations have urged the government to impose a temporary moratorium on all mining activities until a solution is found.
Public health professionals believe that educating the public on the risks associated with galamsey can help move the needle towards supporting the fight against this threat.
Speaking to the media on the eve of Ensign Global College’s tenth anniversary, paediatrician Professor Daniel Ansong said that galamsey activities that expose people to heavy metals pose serious health risks to adults as well as children. He also called for improved training for public health practitioners to address these health risks.
“We need to be training public health professionals who can be able to work and find out problems that galamsey is associated with. Both right from childhood to adulthood, exposure to certain heavy chemicals can harm the human being and therefore as a public health institution, it will be good for them to have initiatives into training and building capacities for their professionals to be able to conduct scientific research into the areas of illegal mining.
“There is a need for us to have a public health agenda on the galamsey or the illegal mining issues to look at all the dimensions of its impact on public health and therefore, any call to look at its impact is very important.”
Source: Citinewsroom