U/E regional minister appeals to Muslims to exercise patience following the ban on animal slaughtering

Correspondence from Upper East Region

With the Eid-ul-Adha celebration at close rage in the mist of the anthrax outbreak in the Upper East Region, it is obvious that Muslims within the region would be wondering the way forward.

On the heels of this, GhanaWeb's Upper East regional correspondent, Sarah Dubure, had a brief exclusive interview with the Regional Minister on what they are doing regarding the matter.

The Upper East Regional Minister, Steven Yakubu, called on Muslims in the region to bear with them in the wake of the ban on the sale and slaughtering of animals.

Steven Yakubu noted that they had come up with a committee comprising all the key public health experts in the region, of which he chairs.

He explained that they had convened a number of times, to take steps on how to contain the situation, and consequently lift the man if possible.

Among the steps, is a direction by a technical team to vaccinate about 70% of animals susceptible to the outbreak.

"We have been briefed by technical people that they have to do 70% of vaccination", he said.

The Regional Minister noted that much concentration will be on the areas that recorded the most cases.

"Particularly those constituencies where where the out break is had 100,000 vaccines delivered", he divulged.

He noted that prior to the 100,000 vaccines, they were earlier given 22,000.

He further noted that the efforts were facilitated by their development partners, FAO in collaboration with Zipline, who are doing the deliveries.

He pointed out that they have almost exhausted 100,000 vaccines in the exercise, adding that they would therefore convene on Monday, to take a decision.

He assured Muslims they were working closely with their leaders to come up with a safe policy.

He added that they were handling the issue with a heavy heart, as they know how important the impending celebration is to them.

"We are doing it with a heavy heart. We know how important the celebration is to Muslims", he sympathized.

He eventually emphasised that the ban was still on, and entreated all in the region, to comply with the directive.

"The ban is still in place, so people should make sure that they obey the ban", he said.