The Minority in Parliament is calling for an immediate briefing from the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, on government’s efforts to prevent disease outbreaks in the aftermath of Monday’s devastating floods.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin urged the Health Minister to update Parliament on interventions being rolled out to protect residents in affected communities, warning that the flood disaster has significantly heightened the risk of waterborne and other communicable diseases.

According to the Minority, the Minister must also outline the country’s level of preparedness to detect and respond swiftly to any public health emergency arising from the floods, which have affected more than 38,000 people and claimed 12 lives.

Beyond the immediate health concerns, the caucus accused the government of adopting policies that have intensified environmental degradation and fuelled illegal mining.

Mr. Afenyo-Markin argued that the creation of GoldBod and the Bank of Ghana’s Gold-for-Reserves programme had inadvertently strengthened illegal mining operations, worsening the destruction of water bodies and the environment, and increasing the severity of flooding.

He maintained that the government must accept responsibility for policies the Minority believes run contrary to its pledge to clamp down on illegal mining.

The Minority’s call comes as emergency response teams continue relief and recovery operations in flood-hit communities, amid growing concerns over the humanitarian situation and the potential for disease outbreaks following one of the worst flooding disasters to hit the capital in recent years.