Tamale, Feb 4, GNA - Former President Jimmy Carter of the United States on Wednesday said there was no excuse whatsoever for leaders in West Africa to fail their people in the fight to eradicate the guinea worm disease.

He said there was no excuse for the people to suffer, unnecessarily from the guinea worm diseases, adding: "In Ghana the ability, resources, knowledge and the support to fight and eradicate the disease were in place," and called on the Government to commit itself to the challenge by taking swift and immediate action to fight the disease. Mr Carter was speaking at a press conference in Tamale after visiting Jantong/Dashei Traditional Area, a guinea worm endemic community in the East Gonja District about 24 kilometres from Tamale.

Mr Carter said, the guinea worm eradication campaign was now fighting the last one per cent of the guinea worm disease remaining in the world and "the Carter Centre" was committed to ensuring that the last one per cent of the guinea worm case in the world was eradicated.

He said Ghana accounted for 27 per cent of about 35,000 cases reported world wide in 2003 and expressed the hope that the situation would be brought under control before the end of this year.

Dr Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of Health, said Ghana would raise more public awareness to gain a sense of urgency at all levels to reduce the number of guinea worm cases in West Africa.

He said the Government would commit enough resources to providing improved water supply to endemic communities as well as increase health education in the rural areas as a means of eradicating the disease.