Mrs Martha Rainer Opoku Mensah, Principal Coordinator of the TogetHER Project at SOCODEVI, a Canadian non-governmental organisation, has urged heightened awareness campaigns for communities along Ghana’s beaches to promote clean environments, reduce pollution, and protect marine life.

She said beaches played a crucial role in the health of people, providing a conducive place for relaxation.

However, the level of pollution along some beaches in the capital, she said, made them unhealthy and unsafe for both residents and revelers.

She urged municipal assemblies to increase awareness on clean and sustainable environment in those areas to improve the sanitation conditions.

“I mean, this is a beach, and I know that definitely people would love to come around to swim and to carry other activities here, but because of how the whole stretch is littered, it is not environmentally healthy and safe for people who live around here and then also people who want to use this space.

“So, I will first of all call on the district assembly to see the importance to from time to time, visit these areas to sensitise the people on the impact of plastic waste on the environment.”

Mrs Mensah made the call when SOCODEVI embarked on a clean up exercise at the beach front of the Art Centre, in Accra, on Saturday, September 20.

The cleanup exercise, undertaken in partnership with the Green Africa Youth Organisation (GAYO), Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED), Youth Mappers – University of Ghana, and the Korley Klottey Municipal Assembly, was to commemorate the 2025 World Cleanup Day.

World Cleanup Day is observed annually on September 20, with the aim of tackling the global waste crisis and promoting sustainable development.

The exercise saw participants swept, removed ‘buried’ wastes, and collected them into a waiting truck for proper disposal.

Residents were also sensitised on sustainable waste management practices including the 4Rs (Recycle, Reuse, Reduce and Recover).

Mrs Mensah said the exercise was to help improve the conditions at the beach and the lifestyle of the residents.

She stressed the need for Ghanaians to undertake regular cleaning of their surroundings, highlighting the importance of a clean environment on the health of the population.

“It should be an everyday affair, and not just something to be done on a ceremonial day like this. It is something that should be part of their everyday life, and it is something that they need to be educated on,” she emphasised.

Mrs Mensah also called on the assemblies to provide waste containers at these beaches to curb dumping of waste directly into the sea.

Madam Mabel Naa Amorkor Laryea, the Project Coordinator for Zero Waste Cities, GAYO, described as “heartbreaking” the level of pollution along many beaches in the capital, reiterating calls for more protection of beaches.

“We came here with the intention of trying to do art out of the waste that we are going to collect. Unfortunately this is something that can’t happen because these are residual waste that has to be collected, and it has gone deep down into the soil so we have to dig them out,” she bemoaned.

She, therefore, called on the public to use more environmentally friendly plastic to reduce the pollution.

“We should reduce our intake of single-use plastic and move more or get us more sustainable reusable materials,” she stressed.

SOCODEVI is committed to improving community living conditions by supporting the establishment and growth of sustainable and inclusive cooperatives and mutual enterprises.

In Ghana, SOCODEVI is implementing the TogetHER – a Women and Cocoa Communities Initiative, a five-year Global Affairs Canada-funded project (2022-2027) focused on empowering women and youth in cocoa-producing communities in the Ashanti and Western North regions.

The objective of the TogetHER project is to enhance the autonomy and influence of women and young adults (18-35 years) residing in rural cocoa-producing communities in the aforementioned regions.

Additionally, it is to reduce gender disparities in the cocoa industry and promote the allocation of resources at the local level, to ensure inclusiveness.