Tamale, Oct. 27, GNA -- About 2,642,796 children in the Northern Region would be immunised against poliomyelitis, measles, provided with Vitamin A Supplements, de-wormed and presented with treated mosquito nets under the 2006 National Child Health Campaign. Dr Akwasi Twumasi, Deputy Northern Regional Director of Ghana Health Service in charge of Public Health, briefing the press in Tamale on Thursday, said the region was ready and had received the needed funding and logistics to undertake this year's campaign. The campaign begins on Wednesday November 1 to 5 under the theme "For Healthy Childhood. Let us Fight Measles, Poliomyelitis and Malaria".

He noted that communities in the "hard to reach" areas would not be covered now due to the rains and gave the assurance that those areas would be covered after the rains to ensure that poliomyelitis, measles and other childhood killer diseases were eliminated from the country. Dr Twumasi said the Northern Regional Health Directorate was using the traditional "gong-gong" as a medium of information to sensitise the public particularly the rural communities to assemble their children for immunisation to ensure the success of the exercise. "While we depend on the media for publicity, we would appeal to parents and community leaders to ensure that children under five years are assembled at vintage points to be immunised," he added. Dr Twumasi said Northern Region recorded 16 cases of measles in the first quarter of this year and expressed optimism that the exercise would succeed to ensure that no cases of measles, poliomyelitis or any childhood killer diseases were recorded in future.