Accra (Greater Accra), 1 Dec 1998 - Ghana is among four African countries to benefit from a 66 million-dollar worth of zithromax drugs for the elimination of trachoma, a major cause of blindness. Under the package, a collaborative effort by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Pfizer, a major drug manufacturer and Clark Foundation, long- acting Azithromycin will be used in the prevention and treatment of trachoma at the community level. The strategy is to eliminate trachoma as a major cause of blindness by the year 2020. This came out at a three-day conference of experts on the elimination of trachoma in Accra yesterday. Nana Paddy Acheampong, Deputy Minister of Health opened the conference said the spread of the disease has grown to such proportions that the various partners need to come together to seriously address the situation. He said in 1997 Northern region alone treated 2,538 cases while the Upper West region also recorded 670 cases. ''Even though these are the endemic areas, the disease's prevalence has been recorded in disturbing proportions in all other regions in the country. ''Unfortunately and like most other diseases, it mainly women that are found to be more susceptible to the ailment and are found to be two to three times more likely to be blinded by the disease than men, '' he noted. Nana Paddy Acheampong said a lot of collaborators have provided comprehensive eye care to the people. Notable among them are Sight Savers International, Lions Club, Valco Trust, Shell Ghana, Christoffel Blindness and Swiss Red Cross. The Ministry of Health has also with the help of the collaborators drawn up specific plans for the prevention of blindness. The Deputy Minister added that ''we have effectively integrated eye care into the general health system, begun the training of public health personnel in the primary eye care and intensified the involvement of ophthalmic nurses in the screening and giving of first line treatment to patients''. Nana Paddy Acheampong said however that even though ''we are genuinely worried about trachoma, we are also worried about cataract, glaucoma, onchocerciasis, corneal blindness and vascular diseases. ''The elimination of one will, therefore, be an achievement. However,... a multi-intervention approach to eliminate, prevent and minimise the occurrence of all others would be an invaluable service to mankind,'' he said. Dr Martin P. Mandara, WHO representative in Ghana said the problem of blindness in the world today is real. He said it is to arrest the situation that a long-term 25-year plan has been developed to be implemented in phases. The plan will be implemented in three stages of disease control, human resources and infrastructure, and technology needs and development. It would be implemented in recognition of bi- and multi-lateral agencies as partners in the mobilisation of resources and development of networks for effective and useful outcomes.
Accra (Greater Accra), 1 Dec 1998 - Ghana is among four African countries to benefit from a 66 million-dollar worth of zithromax drugs for the elimination of trachoma, a major cause of blindness. Under the package, a collaborative effort by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Pfizer, a major drug manufacturer and Clark Foundation, long- acting Azithromycin will be used in the prevention and treatment of trachoma at the community level. The strategy is to eliminate trachoma as a major cause of blindness by the year 2020. This came out at a three-day conference of experts on the elimination of trachoma in Accra yesterday. Nana Paddy Acheampong, Deputy Minister of Health opened the conference said the spread of the disease has grown to such proportions that the various partners need to come together to seriously address the situation. He said in 1997 Northern region alone treated 2,538 cases while the Upper West region also recorded 670 cases. ''Even though these are the endemic areas, the disease's prevalence has been recorded in disturbing proportions in all other regions in the country. ''Unfortunately and like most other diseases, it mainly women that are found to be more susceptible to the ailment and are found to be two to three times more likely to be blinded by the disease than men, '' he noted. Nana Paddy Acheampong said a lot of collaborators have provided comprehensive eye care to the people. Notable among them are Sight Savers International, Lions Club, Valco Trust, Shell Ghana, Christoffel Blindness and Swiss Red Cross. The Ministry of Health has also with the help of the collaborators drawn up specific plans for the prevention of blindness. The Deputy Minister added that ''we have effectively integrated eye care into the general health system, begun the training of public health personnel in the primary eye care and intensified the involvement of ophthalmic nurses in the screening and giving of first line treatment to patients''. Nana Paddy Acheampong said however that even though ''we are genuinely worried about trachoma, we are also worried about cataract, glaucoma, onchocerciasis, corneal blindness and vascular diseases. ''The elimination of one will, therefore, be an achievement. However,... a multi-intervention approach to eliminate, prevent and minimise the occurrence of all others would be an invaluable service to mankind,'' he said. Dr Martin P. Mandara, WHO representative in Ghana said the problem of blindness in the world today is real. He said it is to arrest the situation that a long-term 25-year plan has been developed to be implemented in phases. The plan will be implemented in three stages of disease control, human resources and infrastructure, and technology needs and development. It would be implemented in recognition of bi- and multi-lateral agencies as partners in the mobilisation of resources and development of networks for effective and useful outcomes.
