Unposted environmental health officers call for immediate recruitment

By Emmanuella Sarfo-Ntow June 23, 2025

Trained but unposted Environmental Health Officers and Assistants has called on the government to grant immediate financial clearance for their recruitment to strengthen Ghana’s national sanitation drive.

Their appeal comes in the wake of President John Mahama’s recent directive to Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to establish district sanitation task forces and mobilise communities for the enforcement of sanitation laws and the organisation of clean-up campaigns.

While welcoming the President’s renewed commitment to improving sanitation, the group expressed concern about the feasibility of the initiative amid the prolonged unemployment of over 3,600 graduates from the country’s three Schools of Hygiene located in Accra, Ho, and Tamale since 2021.

“These directives are commendable, but without adequate staffing, they cannot be effectively implemented,” the group said.

According to them, the environmental health officers are the only licensed professionals mandated to enforce sanitation regulations, yet four graduating cohorts have remained unengaged for more than four years.

The group urged key institutions including the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development; the Ministry of Health; the Ministry of Finance; and Parliament’s Select Committee on Water and Sanitation to prioritise their recruitment.

They also appealed to regional ministers, MMDCEs, traditional leaders, and faith-based organisations to support their cause, underscoring their readiness to contribute to disease prevention and public health promotion.

“We stand ready to serve and help prevent sanitation-related disease outbreaks. All we need is the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to building a cleaner, safer Ghana.”