Chiana Health Center In Urgent Need Of Snake Vaccines

Management of the Chaina Health Centre (CHC) in the Kassena-Nankana West District of the Upper East Region, have appealed to the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service to as a matter of urgency provide anti-snake vaccines to treat victims of snake bites.

The facility serves about 825 communities annually and records high cases of snake bites and therefore the needed to stock the facility with some vaccines as the farming season got close.

The situation has become worrying to residence, farmers and traders who do business in the Chiana town and its immediate environment.

Victims of snake bites from the area travel long distances to nearby districts such as the Builsa North and the Kassena-Nankana Municipality to access anti-snakes vaccines or risk dying where they cannot immediately have the vaccines.

The Avoyam Missions International, a community based religious organization working to promote the plight of the poor and most vulnerable in society made this known at the weekend, when it donated six wheel chairs to the Centre to promote quality health care delivery and to boost the logistics needs of the facility.

Apostle Stephen Avoyam, Executive Director in charge of the Missions, said the organization was charged to help alleviate poverty in the Chaina-Paga area.

He said the NGO was supporting women with funds and training to enable them venture into shea-butter extraction, and soap making among others to empower them economically to reduce their vulnerability in society.

Apostle Avoyam called on stakeholders, individual philanthropists, non-governmental organizations and other development partners to support and provide the essential needs of members of the community, especially on health, education and improving the socio-economic lives of the people in the area.

Madam Cindy Sulemana, Medical Assistant for the Centre who received the items, confirmed the high rate of snake bites, and said it would be prudent to stock the Centre with the requisite vaccines to enable it treat snake bite cases recorded.

Madam Sulemana indicated that snake bite was rampant in the area and said the Centre received five to 10 cases a day, adding that some were referred cases from other facilities to the Centre, while others were from communities in the Upper West Region that were close to Chiana.

Madam Sulemana lauded the efforts of the organization and said the donation was timely, as the Centre operated with only a wheel chair and added that it would go a long way to complement some of the health needs of the Centre.

GNA
By Jerry Azanduna, GNA