Funeral facilities, mortuaries in Ghana operating illegally- CEO of MoFFA
This situation, according to the Agency, is even making some facilities accept bodies without finding details of where they coming from or what caused their deaths
The Mortuaries and Funeral Facilities Agency(MoFFA) has revealed that none of the mortuaries in Ghana currently have acquired the requisite licences for their operations as required under the Health Institutions and Facilities Act, 2011 (Part 2).
This situation, according to the Agency, is even making some facilities accept bodies without finding details of where they coming from or what caused their deaths.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Chief Executive Officer of MoFFA, Dr Yaw Twerefour noted that his outfit had identified over 232 mortuaries operating without licence.
He noted that licences tell how such facilities should operate indicating that his outfit had developed standards in line with the law to enforce and regulate the system to ensure sanity in the work of mortuary operators.
Enforcement
Dr Twerefour further said that the standards will soon be made known to the stakeholders by the next quarter after which they will be given time for inspection and their subsequent licencing.
He added that after this had been done, the Agency would not take it lightly with facilities which will fail to comply with the standards.
Standards
In specific terms, MoFFA, which is established under Part Two of Act 829 seeks to license facilities such as old storage facilities for human remains, mortuaries, funeral homes, crematoria, columbaria, mausoleums, cemeteries and hearses.
Also, the practitioners who are to be licenced include pathologists, autopsy assistants, embalmers, funeral home directors, mortuary attendants, undertakers, cremators, hearse service providers and drivers.
Touching on the need for the licencing regime, Dr Twerefour mentioned that it will among others weed out unlicenced hearses and ensure a chain reaction by streamlining activities in the sector.
