Victims of Apiate explosion will have long term effects – GHS

Dr Kofi Issah, Director of the Family Health Division, Ghana Health Service (GHS), says some of the victims of the Appiatse explosion will still experience the effects of the explosion for years to come.

“The blast will definitely have a long-term effect. Today, somebody might tell you I am quite okay, then, five years down the line, he notices there is something very odd about him and he remembers there was some small shrapnel which came and lodged somewhere in him at that time.

“We’ve always been hearing from our grandfathers saying: Somebody came back from the second world war and never realized there was a bullet lodged in him until one day he gets sick, and they find a strange object.

“What is this object? They say it’s a bullet. Can they remove it? Sometimes they just leave it in peace. So, the effects, it’s unfortunate that we are still just counting and that shouldn’t happen to any community within our country,” he said.

Dr Issah said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency when the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) donated 1000 packs of dignity kits to be distributed to the victims of the explosion.

The kits contained underwear’s, toothpaste and brushes, shaving sticks, bathing and washing soap, sanitary pads, and condoms among others.

The Director said COVID-19 gave the GHS an opportunity to develop a manual on how to deal with humanitarian emergencies and critically assess victim communities, their surroundings, district, region, and the nation at large to minimise the effects of such occurrences.

That was being done for Appiatse, he said, adding that on a case-by-case basis, the Service would join other teams to assess what the victims would need as the effects could even affect generations.

On Thursday, January 20, 2022, a large explosion occurred along the Tarkwa-Bogoso-Ayamfuri road after a truck transporting mining explosives was reported to have collided with a motorcycle.

The explosion levelled the nearby Appiatse village, where people were confirmed dead, and an additional 59 people were injured.