Neglect and Vision Loss: Ghanaian Coastal Women Blinded After Years of Fish Smoking

In Ghana’s coastal communities, a disturbing reality persists. Some elderly women who spent their lives smoking fish are now blind and trapped in poverty.

After years of exposure to thick, acrid smoke, these women have lost their sight, a consequence of their livelihood that goes largely unnoticed. Fish smoking, a tradition passed down through generations, continues to put the health and future of these women at risk.

Felicia Forson is a 60-year-old widow who lost her sight nine years ago to untreated cataracts.

She had smoked fish for more than 20 years.

Once a vibrant woman who spent hours behind the traditional oven smoking fresh fish for eight hours daily, this woman is now left in abject poverty as she is incapable of returning to her fish smoking business which used to earn her a living.

She has been living in a fragile wooden structure in Elmina in the Central Region , unable to afford decent accommodation. Whenever it rains, her room floods and stays damp for days, leaving her in constant discomfort and worry.

She is a mother to three grown up children who live far away from her in the Oti region, doing menial farm jobs to support her, and their families.

The traditional fish smoking process is one of intense labour, involving long hours spent in front of open fires, inhaling smoke and enduring extreme heat.

Over time, this exposure can lead to serious health problems, particularly with the eyes.

The smoke health experts say contains harmful particles that can irritate the eyes, leading to conditions such as cataracts and other forms of eye damage.

But despite these risks, many women, like Ms Forson, do not seek medical help until it is too late.

Sharing some of the symptoms she experienced before going completely blind,  she told the Ghanaian Times in an interview during a visit to her home in Elmina, that she often felt severe burning sensation in the eyes, blurry vision and headache throughout her years of fish smoking and thought it was normal because all her friends complained of same symptoms.

“I was managing the pain and blurry vision with an ointment called “Nyanko Oye” which in the beginning was giving me some relief but as time went on I was not feeling any better after using the ointment.”

“I never visited the eye clinic because I felt it was noqt necessary and never thought what I was experiencing could make me go blind until it was too late,” she lamented.

THE FISH SMOKING PROCESS

The women typically smoke fish slowly, using stacked racks placed over traditional clay ovens. The process involves burning firewood in these ovens, which are either built in their homes or housed within enclosed sheds. This method generates significant heat and smoke, creating a challenging and often arduous preparation process.

The constant exposure to these conditions adds to the difficulties and health risks associated with their fish smoking activities.

DANGERS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRADITIONAL FISH SMOKING METHOD

A Director of health, Ghana Health Service (GHS) Dr Louisa Matey is worried about the persistent issue.

She told the Ghanaian Timesthat frequent exposure to smoke from fish smoking poses significant threat to the eyes.

She explained that the cornea is extremely sensitive, and regular exposure to heat and smoke could cause significant and damaging effects on the eyes.

“People who are exposed to smoke stand the risk of getting cataracts,  exacerbate already existing eye conditions or trigger other serious eye problems therefore it is very important for women who are into such businesses to find alternative means of livelihoods, use safer alternatives for fish smoking or reduce the number of hours they spend smoking fish,” she advised.

She explained that fish smoking in Coastal Ghana has been linked to high pollutants exposures, saying there was the need for increased advocacy on the dangers of long term exposure to smoke from fish smoking.

REGRET

Ms Forson expressed regret for not heeding to the advice of her late neighbour who warned her to stop smoking fish when she started experiencing the severe symptoms that eventually resulted in her blindness.

She mentioned that her neighbour, who was also her closest friend reminded her about the ordeal of some elderly woman within their community who suffered blindness after spending years smoking fish “but I never imagined I will face such an ordeal though I knew about the women she talked about. I could not imagine my life without the proceeds from my fish smoking business, I could not muster the courage of venturing into another business but look at how it ended for me,” she lamented.

Just like Ms Forson, many other women in coastal Ghana are confined to their homes due to blindness.

The furthest they can venture is to step outside to use the washrooms, which are usually located outside their homes. It is rare to find houses in these coastal areas with washrooms conveniently built inside.

Some of these blind women are forced to rely on public washrooms, requiring them to walk a considerable distance from their homes.

The lack of such accessible facilities makes life even more challenging for these blind women.

These women now hope their suffering will serve as a cautionary tale, urging others not to repeat their mistakes.

They emphasise the importance of regular eye screenings, especially for those who spend countless hours behind the hazardous traditional ovens and smoke.

Aba Ansah, an elderly woman in her early 70s is one of such women, she lives in a small room in a fishing community called Moree, a room she once proudly built with the proceeds from her fish smoking business. But today, this room is a constant reminder of her sacrifices that cost her something far more precious than money; her sight.

For nine long years, she has been blind, a condition she believes might have been prevented if only she had sought proper medical care earlier in life.

She recalls her younger days when she was vibrant and full of energy, making a living by smoking and selling fish in large quantities.

Her business was her life, and it provided her with enough income to secure a place to live without having to pay rent.

“I used part of the proceeds from this fish smoking business to build a room for myself, so currently, I am not paying rent to any landlord,” she shared with the Ghanaian Times. But her dedication to her work came at a steep cost.

 “I sacrificed my vision to make ends meet and never took my health seriously. Today I am old and feeble, and I wish I had gone to see an ophthalmologist at least once every year. Now it is too late,” she lamented, her voice tinged with regret.

She fears her daughter, 36-year-old Victoria Akua Obamu who also smokes fish for a living could end up like her.

Ms Ansah’s story is a heartbreaking situation of neglect, not just of her health, but of the health of many women like her, who toil day in and day out in Ghana’s fish smoking industry.

These women, driven by the need to provide for their families, often endure years of exposure to the harsh conditions of their work, conditions that ultimately take a toll on their health.

For Ms Ansah, and other women like her, the delay in seeking treatment has devastating consequences. Unable to work, they are left in a state of abject poverty, relying on the kindness of others to survive.

LATE VISIT TO THE OPTHALMOLOGIST AND IRREVERSIBLE EYE DAMAGE

In an interview with the Ghanaian Times, Elvis Acheampong, an ophthalmologist at the Eye Care Department of the Elmina Polyclinic, explained that many women who smoke fish and had eye issues failed to report to the facility early enough for effective treatment.

“Most of the women we see at the clinic come when it is too late to save the eyes.”

“By the time they come to us, the damage is often irreversible, and we have no choice but to refer them to larger health facilities like the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital or the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra,” he said.

He lamented that due to limited resources, his outfit was unable to conduct free eye screenings in area.

This he said was crucial because the women in these regions often avoid health facilities, preferring to use unapproved ointments and over-the-counter medications that can sometimes worsen their conditions.

A CALL TO ACTION

Portfolio Manager of the Clean Air Fund, a global philanthropic Foundation tackling air pollution, Dr Elvis Kyere-Gyeabour reacting to the problem said it was very important for the government to make alternative and safer modes of smoking fish very affordable and easily available to these women to protect them from losing their sight or lives to diseases, which could be linked to their exposure to the smoke from the traditional ovens they use in smoking fish.

He also mentioned that increased awareness creation about the hazardous smoke that emanates from these traditional ovens and how the women could reduce their risks of losing their sight was very important.

He was also of the view that since the harm had already been caused, these affected women should receive some form of attention from the government to alleviate their sufferings.

ECONOMIC BARRIERS

When asked why they had not saved to buy safer, low-smoke stoves for fish smoking, Auntie Araba, a fish smoker in Moree, explained that the stoves provided by the government at supposed subsidised prices some years were still too expensive.

These stoves she said cost between GH₵700 and GH₵ 1,500.00, a price many women could not justify when they could have traditional ovens built for them for as low as GH₵100.00 or even build them themselves.

IGNORANCE AND SUPERSTITION

Most of the women involved in the fish smoking business are oblivious of the harm they are exposed to.

They blame the health problems they face later in their lives as a result of exposure to the smoke, on curses and strange superstitious beliefs.

Esi Conduah, a 46-year-old resident of New Takoradi in the Western Region works diligently in an enclosed shed, smoking fish. Her elder sister, a blind woman in her sixties, Maame Owusua, sits beside her. Less than a year ago, she lost her sight and has since entrusted the fish smoking business entirely to Mrs Conduah.

Maame Owusua clings to the hope of regaining her vision, finding life without sight unbearable. Despite the doctors’ warnings that her blindness may be linked to the smoke from years of fish smoking, she remains skeptical. She has witnessed many women in similar situations but insists that her blindness could stem from another cause, which she believed was spiritual but not just the smoke.

The heartrending predicament of these women serve as a reminder of the importance of regular health check-up and the need for better awareness of the health risks associated with these kinds of occupations.

It also highlights the urgent need for improved healthcare access for women in rural and coastal areas, so that others may avoid the same fate.

BY RAISSA SAMBOU