NGO distributes 17 thousand treated bed nets to communities

Tamale, May 10, GNA - The Christian Children's Fund of Canada (CCFC), an NGO, has handed over some 17,000 treated mosquito bed nets valued at about 450 million cedis to the Northern Regional Health Directorate to be distributed to institutions and individuals in the NGO's operational areas.

The distribution of the bed nets is the NGO's contribution towards its malaria control programme in the region to ensure that children and pregnant women were protected from the disease. The treated bed nets would have a five-year live span before re-treatment.

The CCFC, in partnership with five of its project support local organisations, would distribute the nets to people in the Yendi, Gushiegu, Karaga and Saboba/Cheriponi districts and in the Tamale Metropolis to promote child survival and development. Ms Sanatu Nantogma, Country Director of the CCFC, said her outfit was working in partnership with five local organisations to promote education, water and sanitation, health and nutrition and micro enterprise development by way of helping the rural poor. She said CCFC and its partners had already organised community forums to sensitise the people on environmental cleanliness, the use of the mosquito bed nets and how to practice good hygiene to improve their healthy living.

Dr John Abenyire, Tamale Metropolitan Director of Health Services who received the nets, expressed gratitude to CCFC and that the arrival had come at the right time since the region was observing Child Health Care promotion week.

Dr Abenyire gave the assurance that effective monitoring would be put in place to ensure that the nets were not sold or diverted to relations.

He appealed to other NGOs operating in the region help supply more nets to assist in controlling malaria.