Dr Ebenezer Appiah-Denkyira, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), on Thursday said it was important that every home had in stock Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) as a ready remedy to control cholera and other health implications.
He said since ORS solution contains the main fluid that cholera infected person loses through vomiting and diarrhoea, it would be wise that people stock them in their homes.
“ORS works quickly to restore the fluid lost in cholera patients and it is the main drug health workers use to treat cholera patients-it is only when people do not take ORS and are brought to the hospitals that doctors infuse them”, Dr Appiah-Denkyira said.
Speaking at a presentation ceremony where Dannex Limited, a pharmaceutical company, based in Accra donated GH¢20,000.00 worth of Dannex ORS to the GHS, Dr Appiah-Denkyira said currently there was shortage of ORS in most of the health facilities and pharmacy and drugs shops and therefore the packages would go a long way to replenish stock.
He said at the moment, the cholera outbreak that hit the country, particularly, in the Greater Accra Region had gone down drastically, but cases were still being recorded in all 10 regions.
He attributed the decrease in the spread of cholera to the authorities’ ability to arrest the spread of the disease, especially the Mayor of Accra’s interventions that ensured that unauthorized structures in insanitary areas were all destroyed.
He however emphasized the need to continue public education and awareness for members of the public to appreciate the need to live in better sanitary conditions.
Mr Charles Addo-Cobbiah, Head of Sales and Marketing at Dannex Limited and Mr Benard rpt Benard Alidu, Head of Supply Chain also at Dannex led the Company’s team of staff to present the items to the GHS team.
Mr Addo-Cobbiah said his company decided to donate the ORS to help stock pile the health facilities and to help fight cholera.
“Dannex ORS is specially formulated to help reduce fluid lost from the body through dehydration due to vomiting or diarrhea and so we are giving these to help restore the health of cholera infected people”, Mr Addo-Cobbiah noted.
He said Dannex would continue to collaborate with Health authorities in ensuring quality health care for the people.
Mr Alidu said the Company had also donated quantities of ORS to the Liberian people through the Liberia Embassy in Ghana to help fight Ebola which also has similar symptoms of cholera.
He said the Company intends to send ORS to the Guinean and Sierra Leonean people to help those countries out.
