Tamale, Feb. 7, GNA - Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, Northern Regional Minister on Monday called on stakeholders in the health sector to redouble their efforts in the war against the guinea worm disease in the region.

He appealed to the people to help protect water sources to ensure that no new cases of the guinea worm disease are recorded. Alhaji Idris made the call at a meeting with stakeholders from the health sector and District Chief Executives (DCEs) from the five most endemic guinea worm districts.

The Districts are, Tolon/Kumbungu, Savelugu/Nanton, East Gonja, Yendi and Tamale Metropolitan Area. The meeting was also to review some proposed District Assembly bye-laws aimed at controlling human activities that tend to endanger the safety of water sources.

Alhaji Idris said it was necessary to involve opinion leaders from the guinea worm endemic areas to ensure that bye-laws are respected to be effective.

He said the guinea worm would continue to be a health threat in the region if holistic measures were not put in place to ensure that the disease was eliminated and that it was also necessary for the media to design attitudinal change educational programmes to win the war against the disease.

Dr. Elias Sory, Northern Regional Director of Health Services called for effective policing of dam sites in the region so as to control the rate of infection.

He said measures were also in place to monitor food and water sellers in the bid to reduce the rate of infection of the guinea worm disease.

Mr. Gilbert Dery, Northern Regional Programmes Manager of the disease said there had been a considerable improvement in guinea worm infection over the past two years and expressed the hope that the fight against the disease would be won.