The Sanitary Branch (Ghana)

The Sanitary Branch of Ghana, established in 1910, was formed as a branch of the country's Medical Department when Ghana was a colony under the British. Today, the Ministry of Health in Ghana works to improve the health of the nation's citizens through the formulation of policies and introduction of programs aimed at promoting and increasing accessibility to health care. It functions in conjunction with the Ghanaian government, and overall works toward the continual development of the nation as a whole. The beginnings of a national health care system, currently in the form of the Ministry of Health, can be traced to the late 1800s and early 1900s. The British influence in Ghana marked the beginnings of a structured health care system with the implementation of the Medical Department, which included the formation of the Sanitary Branch.

The original purpose of the Sanitary Branch, as part of the Medical Department, was to protect the Europeans living in the British West African colonies from becoming infected with and dying from tropical diseases, especially after the mass fear following the outbreak of the bubonic plague. The branch soon worked to protect the Ghanaian people as well, instilling sanitation reforms and offering vaccinations for the people of the colony. It also worked to instigate accessibility to clean and drinkable water, combat the infestation of mosquitoes, increase awareness about the maintenance of good health, and deal with the outbreak of epidemics.

Prior to the arrival of the British, the Ghanaians treated diseases through methods involving magic, healers, and animal sacrifices. Health care was decentralized, with any form of treatment being administered in the homes of the people instead of a hospital or clinic of some sort. The lack of a form of sanitation systems was also prevalent, with trash and human excrement scattered in public throughout the villages and the absence of a water pipe system or other method of dispensing clean water to the people. As a result, aside from the malaria and yellow fever carried by mosquitoes, dysentery, hookworm, and round worms were also common.

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