By Samuel Akapule, GNA
Katiu (UE), April 9, GNA- The Paramount Chief of Katiu, in the Kassena-Nankana West District of the Upper East Region, has set up a Community taskforce to help check open defecation.
Pe Ayikode Zangbeo Atoge IV, said this at a durbar organised by Rural Initiatives for Self-Empowerment-Ghana (RISE-Ghana), an NGO at the community.
He said ensuring the end to open defecation would free the community e from diseases such as diarrheoa and typhoid and save the money that they would have to use to treat themselves.
He therefore tasked the community taskforce to ensure that all households in the community had toilet facilities and urged the people to abide by his directive.
“I have personally set up this team to check this unhealthy practice of open defecation which can threaten the health and wellbeing of both children and adults.
“If you don’t have access to a toilet, just pick a hoe along when going to free yourself, dig, free yourself and bury it deep. It is high time we stopped open defecation and start cultivating healthy living practices,” he said.
He thanked the NGO and UNICEF for the programme.
Pe Atoge cautioned parents to desist from giving out their daughters below the age of 18 years in marriage.
“Please stop giving your daughters out for marriage, it has many immediate and future negative consequences. I am deeply concerned about child marriage, please parents and guardians I will like to urge all of you to provide for the needs of your children, especially the girls.
“If you don’t buy panties and pads for your daughters, men and boys will buy it for them but they won’t do that for free,” he said.
Madam Mary Azubam, a Musician, who engaged the people with a live performance of music and dance, drummed home a message to parents to stop giving out their young girls for marriage and rather concentrate on supporting their education.
Whilst calling on pregnant women to ensure that they delivered at health facility, the Musician also appealed to them not to take their antenatal and post-natal health care for granted.
Mr Awal Ahmed, the Executive Director of RISE-Ghana, explained that as part of efforts to create a protective environment for children and reduce vulnerabilities to disease and poverty, the NGO was implementing a project dubbed: “Championing Positive Behaviour Change for Improved Health, Education and Child Protection in the Upper East Region.”
He said the project was using Communication For Development (C4D) as an excellent strategy to achieve results.
The programme which was sponsored by UNICEF was aimed at harnessing the powers of chiefs, queen mothers and celebrities to promote positive behaviour change in the area of health, education and Child protection in the Region.
Among the key challenges confronting the Region which the programme would address are open defecation, hand washing with soap under running water, child marriage, low birth registration, low enrolment and retention of children in school and refusal of many mothers to practice exclusive breast feeding for the first six months among others.
GNA
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