Upper West on the verge of eliminating guinea worm

Wa, April 24, GNA - The Upper West Region, which was one

of the guinea worm endemic areas in the country in the most recent

past, recorded its last indigenous case of the disease at Chawulli in

the Wa East District in 2007 giving an indication that the disease is

virtually dead in the region. Mr. Jacob Mumuni, the Regional Guinea worm Coordinator

who spoke to the Ghana News Agency in an interview at Wa on

Thursday, said the region recorded only one imported case of the

disease in January 2008 in the Jirapa District. "Since then, no case of the disease has been reported anywhere

in the region. Not even the Wa East District which has been the most

endemic district registered any case." He said the region for now could have been classified as

guinea-worm free but it could not because of its close proximity to

the Northern Region where the disease is still prevalent. "Because we share boundaries with the Northern region, it

would be foolhardy to think that all is well in our region as long as

our neighbours continue to fight the disease". Mr. Mumuni attributed their near success in the battle against guinea worm in the region to intensive education which has influenced the behaviour and attitude of the people towards the

disease. "Although the provision of good drinking water in the

communities is a factor, that alone could not have worked if the people had not changed their attitude. If you give people good water

but they refuse to drink it the problem will still persist", he said. He cautioned that it was too early to talk of complete

eradication of the disease in the region since that would have to be

certified by experts from the World Health Organization and

UNICEF after a three-year surveillance period. "Once we share boundaries with the Northern Region we still have to expect imported cases but we have to ensure that such

cases are reported early to stop them from infecting others".