Ghana and Burkina Faso collaborate on poliomyelitis

Wa, Nov.7, GNA - Health personnel from the South- West region of Burkina Faso last Friday held a meeting their Ghanaian counterparts at Wa in the Upper West region on the impending poliomyelitis immunization. The meeting was to institute measures for health personnel from both countries to collaborate to ensure maximum immunization along their borders.

The first phase of this year's National Immunization Day is November 9 to 13, during which children under five years would be immunized against the disease.

The Ghanaian delegation is led by Dr Erasmus Agongo, Upper West Regional Director of Health Services while the Burkinabe delegation is headed by Dr Salifou Konfe, Regional Director of Health Services, South west Burkina Faso.

Mr Ambrose Dery, Upper West Regional Minister, addressing the opening session, called for increased cross border collaboration among health sectors of both countries to check the spread of contagious diseases.

He said such collaboration would also help provide first hand medical information about emerging diseases their prevention and solution to deal with them.

Dr Joseph Goli Lamiri, of the Tamale office of the World Health Organization (WHO) said a cross border immunization and surveillance meeting was key to ensuring that no community or pockets of eligible children were left out during the four-day exercise. Dr Lamiri said within the West African Sub-region, there were huge population movement within and between countries therefore, it was important to plan and synchronized immunization exercises. Dr Agongo, said since diseases did not know political or administrative borders, it was necessary to undertake the planned synchronized immunization exercise effectively and efficiently. He warned of the possible outbreak of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis disease in the region because there were credible reports of its outbreak in some neighbouring countries.

Dr Konfe, said the Burkinabe delegation included health personnel from four districts in the South-west Burkina Faso region that shares the border with the Upper West region.