The four-day training, which ended on Sunday, equipped the participants from seven districts including Shama, Sekondi-Takora­di, Effia- Kwesiminstim, Ahanta West, Nzema East, Ellembelle and Tarkwa, with the skills to attend to community needs, especially as the rains approached.

The volunteers went through lessons on understanding cholera and prevention, detection, stigma­tisation and basic Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) skills.

In an interview with the Ghana­ian Times after closing ceremony, the IFRC Cholera Surge Repre­sentative, Faith Dube, believed that it had become critical to use community approach and volun­teers’ strategies to stem the tide of cholera epidemic in the Western Region.

The project, he explained, would spanned three months leading to the establishment of an Oral Hydration Points, as first aid in communities mostly noted for the cholera outbreaks.

“We are also procuring chlorine and other hand-washing facilities in the communities,” Mr Dube told The Ghanaian Times.

The Western Regional Manager for the Ghana Red Cross Society, Benjamin Acquah, for his part, noted that other programmes in­cluding cleanup campaigns, public engagements and radio and com­munity information centres, would be used to increase awareness and also enhance public education.

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The Regional Chairman of Red Cross, Frank Ofosu Asante, said fishing communities had been targeted as critical hotspots for epidemic control.

The National Vice Chairman, Edward Donkor, stated that deaths due to cholera was unacceptable and encouraged communities to keep their surroundings clean in order to avoid the spread of disease.