Nkawie (Ash), Sept 23, GNA - The Ashanti regional launch of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) was held on Friday at Nkawie in the Atwima-Nwabiagya district with a durbar.

It was attended by pupils in basic schools, traditional rulers, and heads of decentralised departments, assembly members and nursing mothers.

Dr. Joaquim Saweka, country Representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), urged all members of the community/traditional leaders, teachers, farmers, community-based surveillance volunteers and others to come to join hands with the district health team in areas of ensuring that all children are fully immunised through demand for immunisation services, local resource mobilisation, continuous mobilisation and making time for planning and interaction with health workers.

He announced that the WHO had already shown its commitments towards the district's goals and aspirations by providing 30 million cedis to support proposals submitted to the organisation and gave assurance of its preparedness to put its technical expertise at the disposal of the district.

Dr. Kofi Asare, Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services, said the programme was important because it has a primary objective of preventing children from contracting the vaccine preventable diseases killing children between 0-5 years, especially those under two years. He said the country was in an exciting period of global history where it is about to witness eradication of polio after smallpox. Mr Thomas Ofori-Donkor, Atwima-Nwabiagya District Chief Executive, noted that one emerging issue that had been a problem in the district was the upsurge of Buruli Ulcer cases.

He said preparations for the construction of a new Buruli Ulcer theatre for the Nkawie-Toase Government Hospital were far advanced. Madam Beatrice Appah, the District Director of Health Services, in a welcoming address, said the district had been performing creditably well before it as divided.

She announced that the district had strategise to capture all children by conducting its outreach sessions in the evenings and that community sensitisation on benefits of immunisation to the child and the intensification of support visits and the motivation of staff are other strategies to increase coverages. Nana Boakye Dankwa II, chief of Mim-Akyease chaired the function. 23 Sept. 06