IT was a fight that begun in 1989 with little hope as to whether the country would succeed or not. Today, one would be apt to conclude that Ghana has won the fight against guinea worm.
The country has not recorded any single case of guinea since May last year because the transmission of the disease has been interrupted in the Northern Region.
According to health officials, the remaining caseload was limited to only the precincts of the Northern Region, but for the past 13 months, the region has not detected any case.
In 1989, when Ghana began the guinea worm eradication programme, there was a total of 180,000 recorded cases, but by May 2010, only eight cases had been detected and those were the last evidence of any detected case of guinea worm.
Ghana would now enter into the pre-certification phase which would involve sustaining the gains made for the next three years in order to be formally declared guinea worm free by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Speaking at a press briefing in Tamale, the Northern Regional Manager of the Guinea Worm Eradication Programme (GWEP), Mr Gilbert Dery mentioned that the country needed to go through a 12-calendar-month period without recording any case.
“We are into the 13th month without any case, so we can say we have cleared the hurdle,” he stated, adding that the GWEP had even increased the cash award for any detected case of guinea worm from GH¢50 to GH¢100.
Mr Dery again mentioned that a total of 69 suspected and rumoured cases were thoroughly investigated by the GWEP, but none of them were found to be guinea worm.
“We examined and continue to examine all cases that have a semblance to guinea worm infection, like blisters and boils,” he further stated.
The guinea worm manager also indicated that a National Certification Committee had been set up to put together a paper indicating the gains made in the eradication of guinea worm in Ghana.
He said the committee would later present its work to the WHO, which would in turn, send down a team of personnel to ascertain the facts presented to them.
“When the facts presented are confirmed as true, the WHO would then proceed to declare Ghana guinea worm free,” he added.
Mr Dery said although the transmission had been interrupted, more work still needed to be done, which includes intensification of surveillance and more sensitisation.
“We must also ensure that the provision of safe water remains in place, particularly the small water systems that were constructed as part of the eradication programme,” he noted.
He said another task ahead of the GWEP was how to educate people who had never seen or head of guinea worm in their lives before, because they need to be able to identify the signs so as to report it.
He entreated the media to remain partners with the health service in the fight against guinea worm by raising alarm, where it is necessary.
“The media must bring to attention any broken down wells, boreholes and other water systems,” he stated.
Mr Dery hinted that The Carter Centre, which has been one of the trusted funding partners for the activities of GWEP, will be pulling out in August.
“They have done a lot to support our work and since it is clear that together we have made significant strides, they now think the time is right for them to pull out,” he said.
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