Gomoa Dominase (C/R), Jan. 7, GNA - Miss Cecilia Essiljoe, a Community Health Nurse in charge of Gomoa Potsin Clinic has cautioned against taking Artesunate-Amodiaquine without determining its dosage according to the weight of the patient. Miss Essiljoe said unlike the application of other drugs in which age was used to determine the dosage Artesunate-Amodiaquine's dosage was based on weight.

She cautioned against going to chemical shops, which did not have a weighing scale and the chart to determine the dosage to buy the drug. The nurse appealed to chemical sellers not to toy with people's lives by refraining serving them with drugs they were not conversant with.

Miss Essiljoe made the appeal at a training workshop for 30 health volunteers at Gomoa Dominase at the weekend.

Allies in Development Actions (ADA) a non-governmental organization (NGO) organised the workshop with funds provided by the Global Fund, National Malaria Control Programme and the Ghana Health Service. It was on the theme: Let us come together to fight malaria. Topics treated included causes of malaria, prevention - Intermittent Preventive Treatment (IPT) and Insecticide Treated Bed nets (ITN), case management, the new drug policy, roles and responsibilities of Community-Based Agents (CBAs) and community volunteers.

Miss Essiljoe appealed to traditional rulers, assembly members and other opinion leaders to help health workers to protect the people from the activities of drug peddlers and quack doctors.

She said many of the drugs that unauthorized peddlers distributed were either expired or rendered ineffective by the excessive heat in the bags they used for their businesses, as drugs in general needed low temperatures.

The nurse said licensed chemical sellers were not allowed to move their drugs from the approved stores to other places without the prior approval from the licensing authorities and said anyone who carried drugs from one town to the other to sell had no authority to do so and must be checked.

Miss Essiljoe told the volunteers that Artesunate-Amodiaquine was not good for expectant mothers who were less than four months pregnant. She cautioned the volunteers against posing as qualified nurses and administering injections to patients.

Mr Emmanuel Akwandoh, Executive Director of the NGO said malaria should not be a killer disease in the country since unlike HIV/AIDS it had a cure and could also be prevented. He appealed to Ghanaians to report early to health facilities when the disease attacked them. 8 Jan. 06