Accra, Feb. 8, GNA – The Buruli Ulcer Victory Aid Foundation (BUVAF) with the support of its partners from Canada, is to provide some deprived communities with boreholes to help fight the buruli ulcer disease in the area.
The communities are Sekyere Afram Plains, Dormaa Municipal, Asutifi South, Asunafo North, Sekyere Central and Tema Municipal.
Mr Emmanuel Agumah, Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation, disclosed this in an interview to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Monday.
He said the Foundation would also support the provision of health facilities for the nurses and midwives to sensitize the communities on the dangers of the disease.
Mr Agumah said the Foundation established some 12 years ago had been able to provide hospitals and bore holes for some communities and had indirectly supported more than 50,000 people.
The Chief Executive Officer said the BUVAF had also written books on the effects of the disease to aid nurses and midwives on sensitization programs in the deprived communities.
He appealed to the communities to seek early medical attention and desist from self-medication in order not to worsen their plight.
Buruli Ulcer is caused by a germ mycobacterium ulcerans that belongs to the same family of organisms that cause leprosy.
According to the World Health Organization, the infection leads to the destruction of skin and soft tissue with large ulcers usually on the legs or arms.
It starts as a painless swelling nodule and can also initially present as a large painless area of induration or a diffuse painless swelling of the legs, arms or face.
Early diagnosis and treatment are the only ways to minimize morbidity and prevent disability.
GNA