A renowned doctor says the food in Accra is contaminated because it comes from all over the country and many of those places are polluted.
Dr. Hilda Manteebea Boye, who is the president of the Paediatric Society of Ghana, made these comments on Accra-based Channel One News when she was making a submission on the impact of illegal mining, usually referred to as Galamsey in the country.
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“We are all sitting in Accra, and we are eating contaminated foods probably because food is coming all over the country and many of these areas are highly polluted,” Dr. Boye noted.
She said the pollution of water bodies and contamination of food due to Galamsey is a serious threat to the health of Ghanaians.
She added that Ghana would soon be forced to import water if illegal mining is not stopped.
Therefore, the Paediatric Society, has urged government and other key stakeholders to fight the Galamsey menace in the country.
“We want the small-scale mining to be stopped. We want the political parties, all of them to commit to stopping this menace now because we are just afraid that in no time we may have to import water into the country.”
Dr. Boye also said the rising cases of kidney failure especially among children is another effect of Galamsey.
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The Paediatric Society has joined calls by many other civil society organisations and professional institutions to ban Galamsey in Ghana.
