About 493,687 persons aged between one and twenty-nine years are to be immunized against Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM) in a mass vaccination campaign. Alhaji Amidu Sulemana, Upper West Regional Minister launched the campaign at Wa on Friday.

A new conjugate vaccine known as MenAfricVac, which was successfully deployed in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in 2010 would be used in the vaccination exercise.

It is intended to reduce the incidence of meningitis epidemic that regularly hit the northern sector of the country, which is within the African meningitis belt.

The Regional Minister said the nation was lucky because the vaccine had been tried and tested and therefore those in the target age group should not feel afraid to get themselves vaccinated.

The campaign, which would be carried out by vaccination teams comprising 370 vaccinators and 1,111 volunteers would cost the government 332,253 Ghana cedis.

It is also expected that Municipal and District Assemblies and District Health Management Teams would mobilize extra resources to support the exercise.

The teams would conduct the vaccination at designated places such as schools, lorry parks and health facilities while others would be moving from community to community and the remotest parts of the region.

Through health promotion, Alhaji Sulemana said, a country become productive and wealthy.

He urged all citizens of the region to mobilize people to patronize the vaccination exercise in order to achieve the intended objective while those engaged in the campaign should do so in humility and reach out to the target group without any discrimination or favour.