Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL) has launched a comprehensive fumigation and disinfection exercise in flood-hit communities across the Western Region to help prevent outbreaks of cholera, typhoid and malaria following recent flooding.

The exercise, which forms part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, is aimed at supporting the emergency response to potential public health threats arising from the floods.

The exercise began simultaneously in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis (STMA) and the Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipality (EKMA) and is expected to cover all 14 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the region.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the exercise in Takoradi, Western Regional Manager of Zoomlion, Patrick Akorful, appealed to residents to cooperate with the fumigation teams as they move through affected communities and public facilities.

“We ask the public to welcome our teams as they move through communities and facilities. This is a free emergency service, and our sole aim is to safeguard public health,” he said.

The exercise targets stagnant water bodies and other public spaces that could become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other disease-carrying organisms following the floods.

Residents in affected communities have welcomed the intervention.

Grace Mensah, a resident of Kwesimintsim, said stagnant pools of water left behind by the rains had attracted large numbers of mosquitoes, raising concerns about the health of children in the area.

“Seeing the Zoomlion team spray around us brings great comfort. We truly appreciate this swift intervention,” she said.

Local authorities and environmental health officials have also commended the initiative.

Assembly Member for Cassava Farm, Abraham Rex Kotobebi, praised Zoomlion Ghana Limited for the timely intervention, saying it complemented the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly’s ongoing environmental sanitation efforts.

Western Regional Environmental Health Analyst, Benjamin Baah, described the exercise as thorough and important to strengthening the region’s preventive health measures.

He said the intervention would contribute to a more comprehensive approach to preventing the spread of diseases in communities affected by the recent floods.