Oncho programme saves 1.5 million from blindness

Wa (Upper West), 19th May ?99 ?

The Onchocerciasis (ONCHO) Control Programme (OCP) has since its inception 25 years ago cured 1.5 million people of river blindness in West Africa.

The programme has also protected more than 34 million others from contracting the disease, within the same period.

Dr. Moses Adibo, Deputy Minister of Health announced this at the 25th anniversary celebration of the OCP at Wa on Tuesday.

He said in all 11 countries including Ghana, Togo, Ivory Coast the Burkina Faso have benefited from the programme. The countries would be required to clear about 600,000 more cases of the disease by the end of the programme in 2002.

The celebration is under the theme, "Together we can control Oncho".

Dr. Adibo said donor agencies would require participating countries to maintain vigilance to be able to detect and nip in the bud any renewed transmission of the disease.

He said that river blindness has been brought under control in the Northern part of Ghana, and the drug-"Ivermectin", for Oncho prevention, was being distributed to people in the Southern half.

Dr. Francis Banka, acting Upper West Regional Director of Health Services said that last year, 20,449 people in the endemic districts of Wa, Sissala, Jirapa and Nadowli were treated of the disease.

He said as at last March, 86 communities with a total population of 41,283 people had been protected.

Mr George Mburathi, Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) representative in Ghana said that the organisation has approved 355,000 U.S. dollars, through its technical co-operation programme, for an Oncho control project covering Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.