Over the years, Ghana has been experiencing intermittent outbreaks
of Guinea Worm infestation in some parts of the country. Guinea worm is a parasitic disease caused by drinking
contaminated water from ponds that are infected with infective larvae, popularly known as Guinea worm. The disease known medically
as dracunculiasis, is extremely painful because of the blister and slow exit of a parasitic worm through the skin. The worm,
sometimes one meter in length, leaves it’s victims temporarily crippled for months. A parasitic worm also causes the
worm’s disease, and it impoverishes communities by crippling agricultural production and reducing child
school attendance.
Though Ghana
has been trying its best ever since 1989 to eradicate the disease from the country, it has still not achieve that objective.
Over 96% of reported Guinea worm cases are mostly from the Northern region especially that of Savelegu Nanton District,
whiles 4% could be found in the Ashanti,
Brong Ahafo, Eastern and Upper East regions. These four regions have broken transmission but continue to
report on imported cases originating mostly from the Northern region. Really, Ghana
has tried its best to eradicate this agony when the country had its first national Guinea worm case search in 1989.
Nevertheless, in 2007, 3,358 cases were reported representing a 19% decrease over the 4,136 cases reported during 2006.
With these figures, the second country infected with Guinea worm diseases, is rated as Ghana.
To support the nation to eradicate the disease, a former
American President, Jimmy Carter, who is also the Founder of the Carter’s Centre based in the US,
visited Ghana last year to find ways of
eradicating the disease in this country. The Carter Centre, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and other development
partners, did massive work in the year 2007.Their efforts were friutful because 2008 records a reduction of 91% representing
153 cases. The Carter Centre is commending Ghana
because great gains had been made against Guinea worm disease, ever since President Carter visited last year. This is indicative
of the fact that thousands of Ghanaians have worked hard to make the reduction possible.
The Leader
of the Carter Center,
President Jimmy Carter, this year, has suggested to the government to find ways to stop the transmission and suggested that
government should focus interventions on 180 villages with indigenous communities. President Carter said though he witnessed
the horrific Savelegu Guinea worm outbreak in the Northern Ghana in 2007, he could now praise
all Ghanaians for their good effort of the reduction of the disease. He commended Ghanaians for continued diligence, dedication,
and political will. “Ghana could
be finally reaching its long – sought goal, that is zero cases of Guinea worm diseases,” he disclosed.
He also urged the government to raise case containment rate
as close to 100 percent as possible and to hold health and administrative staff accountable for their actions as well as improve
surveillance in Guinea worm free areas of the country.
The key messages
which people need to know and act on if guinea worm is to be eradicated are:
- guinea worm comes from contaminated drinking
water;
- infected individuals should not be allowed to
bathe in or contaminate water sources used for drinking.
- guinea worm wounds should be cleaned and bamaged.
- Drilling of pipe-boreholes for clean water is the solution.
