Paga (UER), March 2, GNA - The Ghana Health Service (GHS) in the Upper East Region and its counterpart in the Province of Nahoure in Burkina Faso at the weekend performed a joint launch of the National Immunisation Day against poliomyelitis at the Paga Border Post in the Upper East Region.

The event under the theme: "Make Ghana a Nation without Polio", was targeted at sensitising parents on the significance of vaccinating their children against polio and reaching out to every child below five years in the two neighbouring regions.

Dr Agana Nsiire, Deputy Regional Director of Health Services, said the collaboration between the two countries was to ensure that the crippling disease was completely eradicated in the area.

He said even though the Upper East had not recorded any case of polio since 2003, there was the need to ensure that all children in the neighbourhood were vaccinated in order to forestall any surprise cases. The Regional Director of Health for Nahoure Province, Mr Ouedraogo Bonreima, said Burkina Faso was not collaborating with Ghana alone, but also with Mali and Cote d'Ivoire.

Mr Bonreima said his country recorded 11 cases of polio in 2003, seven in 2004, and so far two cases this year which, he noted, was good reason to intensify the vaccination excise.

Mr Ouedraogo Blaise Corneille, Minister of the Nahoure Province, noted that teamwork was the best way to eradicate the disease, saying "we will collaborate and work closely with our Ghanaian counterparts and make sure that no children are left without vaccination".

Mr David Bakari, Upper East Regional Coordinating Director, commended the GHS for its efforts at improving the health of children and suggested that the collaboration be extended to cover other disease such as tuberculosis, cerebro- spinal meningitis (CSM) and HIV AIDS.