Wa, April 27, GNA – Government is committed to fighting all public health diseases, Deputy Minister of Health Dr. Bernard Oko Boye, has said while expressing concern over the outbreak of Cerebral Spinal Meningitis (CSM) in the Upper West Region.
The Deputy Minister said this when he and his entourage called on the Upper West (UW) Regional Minister, Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih, as part of a two-day working visit to the region that has recorded over 250 CSM cases with more than 40 fatalities.
Dr. Boye praised the regional team for the hard work in managing the two public health threats, CSM and COVID-19.
The visit was to allow the deputy minister to have first-hand information on the health situation of the people regarding the diseases.
Dr. Bin Salih thanked the Deputy Minister for the visit and said his visit was an indication of the government’s commitment to dealing with the challenges of the twin diseases in the region.
He said the region had enough drugs for the CSM owing to the support of the government, Ghana Health Service (GHS), World Health Organization, and other philanthropists.
According to Dr. Bin-Salih, the region has recorded 273 CSM cases with 43 deaths, adding, most of the fatalities were a result of late reporting.
He said officials have intensified public education on the need for early reporting to health facilities in case of any suspected symptoms.
Briefing the Deputy Minister shortly after the courtesy call, Dr. Osei Kuffuor Afreh, outgoing Upper West Regional Director of Health Services said the CSM cases started declining significantly as a result of some interventions put in place.
He disclosed that no district was currently in an outbreak mode even though they continued to record minimal cases.
He said only Jirapa and UW Regional hospitals could react on CSM, which is challenging to the region.
On COVID-19, Dr. Afreh noted that some 2,700 people entered the region during the partial lockdown imposed on Accra and Kumasi, moving the UW region from “low risk to medium risk.”
GNA