Public health analyst Samuel Arthur has criticized the government’s handling of the ongoing cholera outbreak, calling it a failure of leadership.
Speaking on ABC in the Morning, Arthur urged the Ministry of Health to declare a public health emergency, emphasizing that swift intervention and continuous public education on diseases like cholera and cerebrospinal meningitis (CSM) are crucial.
He asserted that investing in prevention will significantly reduce healthcare costs, warning the delays in action could lead to further loss of lives.
The cholera outbreak, which began in October 2024 in the Western and Central regions, has now spread to Greater Accra and the Eastern regions.
By late January 2025, the disease had claimed at least 43 lives, with over 480 confirmed infections across five regions.
The Central Region alone has recorded 69 cases, with the Effutu district emerging as the hardest hit, accounting for 38 of the confirmed cases.
Meanwhile, meningitis cases are also on the rise in Northern Ghana, prompting the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to waive treatment costs for uninsured patients in the Upper West Region.
In response to the meningitis crisis, the GHS issued a directive on January 30, 2025, granting free medical treatment to affected individuals in all Ghana Health Service facilities.
As of January 27, the Upper West Region had recorded 17 suspected cases of CSM, with six confirmed deaths, raising fears of a worsening situation.
With both cholera and meningitis posing serious health threats, Arthur’s call for urgent leadership action has intensified pressure on authorities to act decisively before the crisis spirals further out of control.
