By Muniratu Akweley Issah
Accra, Jan. 24, GNA – The Ghana Health Service (GHS) will commence the second round of Mass Drug Administration for Onchocerciasis in 79 endemic districts across the country from January 27 to February 8, 2025.
The initiative will cover 15 regions, excluding the Volta Region, where transmission of the disease has been interrupted.
Dr. Joseph Kwadwo Larbi Opare, Programme Manager of the Neglected Tropical Diseases Programme (NTDP) at GHS, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the upcoming Mass Drug Administration exercise was crucial because many districts in the affected regions are endemic to Onchocerciasis.
The aim is to administer medication to at-risk populations, which is a step toward eliminating the disease by 2030, as recommended by the WHO.
Onchocerciasis, also referred to as River Blindness, is one of the 14 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Ghana.
Onchocerciasis is a parasitic tropical disease caused by the filarial worm Onchocerca volvulus, transmitted through repeated bites from infected blackflies that breed near fast-flowing rivers and streams in remote villages.
Symptoms can include severe itching of the skin and eye, which can lead to vision loss and blindness.
The disease is primarily treated through mass drug administration using ivermectin, which helps interrupt transmission.
Dr. Opare said that over 15,200 volunteers and health workers would be involved in the Mass Drug Administration exercise, aiming to reach 85 per cent of the targeted population.
“Persons who are exempted from taking the medication included pregnant women, breast feeding mothers less than one week and children less than five years of age or persons less than 90 centimeters in height,” he said.
Dr. Opare said that the biannual exercise was crucial in controlling onchocerciasis in the country.
He urged the public to fully cooperate with the initiative to help eliminate the disease in Ghana.
Dr. Opare said that while the programme had achieved a 90 per cent reduction in some NTDs, including onchocerciasis, more efforts were needed to boost participation in the upcoming MDA for onchocerciasis.
GNA