Polio campaign volunteers receive awards

Sunyani, B/A, Dec. 17, GNA - The Sunyani Municipal Directorate of the Ghana Health Services (GES) on Friday awarded 20 selected volunteers, supervisors and drivers for their immense contribution towards the eradication of poliomyelitis from the Sunyani Municipality. They received a Wellington boat, a bar of key soap, a cutlass, and a certificate as their prizes. The directorate also presented certificates to about 500 volunteers as appreciation for their hard work.

Dr. David Opare, Municipal Director of Health Services, who made the presentation at a short ceremony in Sunyani, said the volunteers moved from house-to-house throughout the 246 communities in the municipality vaccinating children between the ages of 0-5 adding that the volunteers were able to vaccinate 41,242 children. He said apart from the polio immunization, the volunteers also embarked in elephantiasis control programme in the municipality. Dr. Opare disclosed that in 2005, a total of 139,347 eligible populations in the municipality forming 85.7 percent were given drugs to prevent elephantiasis. He said during the campaign, 53 cases of elephantiasis were identified and 308 hydrocoele cases were also recorded adding that the eligible people were given albendazole and ivermectin drugs. Dr. Opare advised the people in the municipality to report all cases of severe headache and waist pains to nearest health facility to avoid 'CSM' as we entered into the dry season.