Bilharzia spikes in Volta Basin following dam spillage

Mr Ben Sackey, the Director, Environmental and Sustainable Development Department of the Volta River Authority (VRA), said schistosomiasis was a “major challenge” that came with the spillage of the dam, and is now feared dominant in over 400 communities in five regions sharing the Volta Basin.

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He said the evading floods from the spillage carried along aquatic weeds bearing snails that carried the schisto worms.

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He said the provision of sanitary facilities including drinking water for affected communities was being sustained, while partnerships with the health authority continued to enable mass drug administration in hundreds of lakeside communities.

He said a study conducted in eleven communities in the Volta basin showed that 36.21 per cent of the 400 women surveyed had the disease and was prevalent within the age brackets of adult teens and young adults.

Alfred Kwesi Manyeh, a senior research fellow at UHAS, and an NTD expert who is leading the UHAS-VRA baseline study, said data so far, showed a culture of heavy dependence on the infested river.

He said although women less frequented the water body as compared to men, certain economic activities such as weaving, which sourced raw materials from the river, increased contact with the disease vectors.

Manyeh said the study was bringing to the fore, the issue of inadequate water supply, a lack of social mobilisation and sensitisation on mass drug administrations, lack of stakeholder engagement on the various interventions, and the fear of adverse drug reactions.