Public Health Officers from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) have arrested sixteen (16) persons for defecating in the open.

The 16 persons were arrested during the early hours of Wednesday, November 2, when the Sanitation Task Force of the Assembly, led by Environmental Health Officers, embarked on a special operation within the Okaikoi South Sub-Metropolitan District.

The operation formed part of continuous efforts to curb open defecation in the metropolis and to ensure a clean and hygienic environment.

Head of Public Affairs of the AMA, Gilbert Nii Ankrah in an interview with the media said the culprits would be given the option to pay a spot fine or face prosecution.

“Some of these practices if we don’t put measures in place to deal with them, we would be contributing to the outbreak of some diseases, and we are well aware that if we don’t put in measures to deal with open defecation, it will exacerbate these outbreaks”

Mr. Ankrah also called on all residents and households to patronize the services and measures put in place by the Assembly to prevent the outbreak of diseases to keep a healthy population.

“As part of measures to eradicate open defecation, the Assembly’s One Household One Toilet Facility is currently ongoing, and we want to encourage all to approach the Assembly. I can assure you that we can assist you to have a proper place of convenience for people to ease themselves.”

Statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Joint monitoring program (JMP) 2021 report, indicate that 494 million people still practice open defecation. The report also found that most of (92%) of these people lived in rural areas and nearly half of them lived in sub-Saharan Africa