Dr Padi Ayertey, the Secretary of the Fertility Society of Ghana (FERSOG), in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of the annual general meeting and scientific conference of FERSOG, said galamsey was one of the biggest challenges to people’s fertility in the local setting.

Dr Ayertey explained that the heavy metals that Ghanaians were being exposed to, on a constant basis was because of the use of mercury and other chemicals in galamsey.

He explained that the chemicals seeped into the water supply, which was evident in the colour of the country’s river bodies, and into fruits and vegetables, with concentrations in animals.

“It has entered the food chain, which seriously affects sperm and any organ that rapidly multiplies, women’s eggs and the child, and genetic malformation in the child too, and at the end of the day, you either have difficulties in getting pregnant, and even when you achieve pregnancy, it may abort somewhere along the line, or you will end up having malfunctional children,” he added.

?He stressed that “the earlier we can get these things out of our system, the better it is; we need to find a solution sooner. We have allowed this to happen, and the repercussions are serious and will be with us for more than 50 years.”