Europe-based company intervenes to stop guinea worm re-emergence

Vestergaard Frandsen, a Europe-based company, specialist in complex emergency control products, has distributed a total of 260 lifestraw filters to households in Sanga and Kpinjiga communities, suburbs of Tamale, as means of ensuring guinea worm free communities.
Vestergaard Frandsen, in partnership with Adonai Community, a Christian non-denominational NGO, provided the lifestraw filters that purify water for use, which would help the beneficiary communities to get clean water so that they are not infected with guinea worm and other water borne diseases.
Ms Araba Sam Annan, Area Manager of Vestergaard Frandsen, West Africa, briefing the Ghana News Agency after the distribution, said her outfit was in partnership with government and other partners to help meet the MDGs, especial goal 7, to ensure that guinea worm did not re-emerge.
She said apart from helping to prevent the re-emergence of guinea worm, her outfit was also helping to fight other water borne diseases in the country especially in communities of the north which were prone to guinea worm due to the absence of good drinking water.
Ms Annan said the weeklong programme in some deprived communities of the north was also to look at areas that needed the attention of Vestergaard Frandsen and gave the assurance that every effort would be put in place to ensure that support was given to deprived communities in need of clean water.
She said: “Our commitment to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) drives our business objectives and provides the impetus for our continued focus on saving lives,” adding that the NGO strived to develop disease prevention interventions by addressing goals 4, 5 and 6.
She expressed the hope that the lifestraw filters would help the households to continue to get quality drinking water, which would prevent them from not only getting guinea worm but also other water borne diseases.
Mr Michael Anyenkanse, Field Technician of Water in Africa Through Everyday Responsiveness (WATER), a guinea worm surveillance network, lauded Vestergaard Frandsen for the initiative and expressed the hope that such interventions would help prevent the re-emergence of guinea worm.
He said currently there was no reported case of guinea worm in the country and that such interventions were welcomed since Ghana would not be complacent about that feat.
He said WATER would continue to be in partnership with all stakeholders to give quality water to communities prone to guinea worm.