Sunyani, Feb.20, GNA- Brong-Ahafo Region recorded a reduction in guinea worm infections in 2006 with 204 cases as against 293 in 2005. The disease, which has gained a high prevalent rate in the country and in the Sub-Saharan Region, recently attracted the condemnation of Former U.S. President Mr Jimmy Carter when he visited Ghana. The disease is said to be on the increase in Atebubu/Amatin, Pru, Sene, Kintampo South, Kintampo North and Nkoranza districts of the region.

This was made known by Alhaj Dr. Mohammed Bin Ibrahim, Brong- Ahafo Regional Director of Health Services during the Ghana Health Service Annual Performance Review Meeting in Sunyani. The meeting was under the theme: "Strengthening Community Health Services in Brong-Ahafo".

Alhaj Dr. Mohammed Bin Ibrahim called for the filtration of drinking water, to remove water bodies, as well as the provision of potable water in these districts to help bring down the number of Guinea worm cases.

The 3-day review meeting for the year 2006 would among other things serve as a mechanism for peer review and an opportunity to engage other stakeholders in stocktaking, sharing experiences and best practices and plan for the year 2007.

He said the doctor-population ratio in the region is 1 to 31, 000, while that of nurses is 1 to 1,700 and that many of the health staff are advanced in age and will soon retire from service. The region, he said, was able to chalk some successes in the area of reproductive health despite the persistence of other challenges such as inadequate staff and irregular flow of funds for health service delivery, the lack of offices and residential accommodation. Dr Ibrahim said the strengthening of the six newly created districts would help in the eradicating of Guinea worm and polio. "Postnatal care decreased from 57 per cent in 2005 to 53 per cent in 2006, adding that there were 119 maternal deaths as against 95 deaths in 2005.

On HIV/AIDS, he said the prevalence rate decreased from 4.5 per cent in 2004 to 3.3 per cent in 2005 and was hopeful that it will further drop in 2006.

He said a total of 213 people living with HIV/AIDS have received antiretroviral treatment at the regional hospital as at the end of last year, while a total of 4,600 pregnant women were counselled on the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV. " Out of the 4,000 women who were tested for HIV, 180 were HIV positive", he added.

He said the Goaso, Techiman Holy Family, Dormaa Presby and the Wenchi Methodist Hospitals have all taken delivery of one CD4 Count Machine to monitor the health of people living with HIV/AIDS, adding, that these hospitals would soon start treating people living with the pandemic with antiretroviral drugs.

Dr Ibrahim said the percentage of the population covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in the region increased from 27 per cent in 2005 to 40 per cent in 2006, making Brong-Ahafo the region with the highest population coverage in health insurance. Mr. Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister appealed to health workers in the region to rescind their decision on a purported move to embark on an industrial action, since government was taking steps to improve on their conditions of service.

He called on them to think about the health of the people first before embarking on such an action since the wealth of every nation depended on the health of its citizens, and seek the appropriate channels for addressing their grievances. The Regional Minister urged the sector ministry to ensure that the guinea worm disease is eradicated by the end of the year, and that of HIV/AIDS, reduced to the barest minimum.

He entreated the regional and district health directorate to involve the communities in the planning and implementation of health policies to ensure effective participation in health delivery. 20 Feb. 07