They are expected to play advocacy roles by educating congregants through their sermons.

The last in the series of the nationwide capacity building workshop for the Imams was held in Accra last Tuesday.

Programme

The workshop was organised by The Light Foundation (TLF), a humanitarian and development organisation, with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The training had already been organised in nine other regions on separate occasions. In each region, at least 20 Imams were selected to participate.

The workshop focused on open defecation, Malaria prevention, exclusive breastfeeding, pregnancy care, early child marriage and hand washing, among other areas.

Sanitation

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TLF, Sheik Ali Abubakar Napari, said over the years, stakeholders had sought to improve sanitation and the wellbeing of Zongo and Muslim communities through behavioural change.

He said as a result, TLF and its partners identified Imams as key to the behavioural change campaign due to the respect and authority they commanded in the Zongo and Muslim communities.

“Imams are people Muslims trust and listen to and, therefore, if information is passed on to Muslims through these renowned Islamic leaders, maximum impact will be achieved,” Sheik Nappari stated.

He expressed gratitude to UNICEF and the National Chief Imam for their immense support to the foundation over the years.

Open defecation

A facilitator, Sheik Rashad Issah of the Health Promotion Unit of the Ghana Health Service, called on Muslim leaders to ensure that all households within their respective communities had toilet facilities.

He, however, indicated that,“badly managed toilets will have the same effect as open defecation.”

The Sheik observed that the absence of household toilets, coupled with pressure on public toilets, forced people to defecate in the open thus putting their lives in danger.

Elaborating further on the consequences of the menace, he said open defecation was the major cause of the perennial cholera outbreaks and the resultant deaths in the country over the years.

Cholera

Cholera is an infectious disease that causes severe diarrhoea, which can lead to dehydration and even death if left untreated. It is caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated with a bacterium called Vibrio cholera, which is usually found in food or water contaminated by faeces from a person with the infection.

Advice

The Spokesperson for the National Chief Imam, Sheik Aremeyaw Shuaib, admonished the Imams to live by example.

According to him, all the topics discussed at the workshop are supported by the Holy Quran.

“If you are a faithful Muslim, you cannot be dirty as ordered by the Holy Quran,” he said.