Ho, Sept. 6, GNA - Dr. Joseph Teye Nuertey, Volta Regional Director of Health, has said immunization coverage for the first and second quarters of 2011 in the Region has declined, citing the Akatsi and South-Tongu districts.

He however, said that the performance of the health sector during the period in the Region has been remarkable.

Dr Nuertey who was speaking at the mid-year review meeting of Health Managers in Ho said: “The overall performance of the Region in most of the service indicators has received appropriate recognition at the national level.”

He said maternal deaths dropped from 39 cases in 2010 to 34 cases in the first half of 2011.

Dr. Nuertey said malaria cases among children under five years declined from 1.7 per cent in 2010 to 1.5 per cent in 2011 during the period under review.

He said: “We can do better to prevent some of these needles deaths of our mothers, wives and sisters”.

Dr Nuertey said that no guinea worm cases were reported in the Region since 2009.

He said that “We need to consolidate this achievement by continuously mounting high surveillance and appropriate case and documentation to meet the certification criteria.

“Documentation of activities is one of our weak areas, but you must know that as it is in America ‘if it is not written, it is not done”.

The Region achieved 85 per cent coverage in the recent “Long lasting Insecticide Nets hang-up campaign”.

Dr Nuertey said the Regional Health Directorate would intensify its supervisory and monitoring visits to the districts in order to promote health delivery.

He said the Directorate has rolled out leadership training programmes to equip health managers with knowledge and skills to enable them to work effectively