The Central Regional Office of the National Youth Authority (NYA) has urged young people nationwide to champion environmental sanitation, saying their active involvement is critical to building healthier communities and advancing sustainable national development.
Mrs Anita Nana Segua Ansah, the Regional Director of the NYA said environmental cleanliness remained a shared civic responsibility that required the collective efforts of government institutions, traditional authorities, civil society organisations and citizens, particularly the youth, who constituted the country’s largest and most energetic population.
She made the call during a clean up exercise at the Anafo beach around the Cape Coast Castle as part of activities to mark the National 2026 youth month celebration.
The exercise attracted officials from the National Youth Authority and Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly as youth groups, students, apprentices, market women, traditional authorities and community members, who desilted drains, swept streets, cleared refuse dumps and cleaned the beachfront.
Addressing participants after the exercise, Mrs Kumasi said environmental sanitation was not only essential for maintaining clean surroundings but also for preventing disease outbreaks, safeguarding public health and improving the socio-economic wellbeing of communities.
She observed that poor sanitation continued to contribute significantly to the spread of communicable diseases,
environmental pollution and flooding, adding that sustained community participation was indispensable in addressing such challenges.
“The responsibility of protecting our environment does not rest with government alone. Every Ghanaian has a role to play, particularly the youth, whose energy and commitment can transform our communities into cleaner, healthier and more attractive places to live,” he stated.
She called on young people to embrace volunteerism by participating in regular communal labour, educating their peers on proper waste management practices and discouraging indiscriminate littering and illegal dumping of refuse.
The Regional Director said the National Youth Month Celebration offered an opportunity to harness the creativity, innovation and volunteer spirit of young people towards national development, environmental conservation and responsible citizenship.
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She further appealed to residents to cultivate the habit of maintaining cleanliness every day rather than limiting sanitation efforts to designated clean-up exercises.
Mrs Kumah encouraged households, institutions, traders and transport operators to make environmental cleanliness a daily responsibility, stressing that sustained behavioural change remained the most effective strategy for achieving lasting improvements in sanitation.
