I felt a sense of pride within me when news broke out that Ghana has finally, after many failed attempts, been able to eradicate guinea worm infections from its territory. Thus, from henceforth we are no longer going to be classified as part of countries on the African continent with cases of guinea worm infections.
So the colourful durbar that was held in the Northern region and graced by the Vice President, John Dramani Mahama and other traditional leaders deserves to be celebrated to the fullest because Ghana as a country has come very far in realizing this dream.
This feat has become very possible due to the commitment exhibited by successive governments that have ruled this nation who made it their priority to rid Ghana from this water borne disease.
Under no circumstance should politicians attach political connotations to this good news that we are basking in.
My admonition stems from the fact that any policy that will improve the well-being of Ghanaians tends to be politicized to the extent that we lose sight of the true benefit of what is being proposed. Policies such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), National Identification, Affordable Housing Project, STX Housing Project, and recently, the proposals by government to purchase five aircrafts for the military all bear testament to my assertions.
I will first and foremost commend all guinea worm victims who came forward to receive treatment from centres dotted around the country, the National Guinea Worm Eradication Programme, deserve a big pat on the back for their tireless dedication and the hard work they invested into the eradication programme, the Ministry of Health and particularly the Mills-led administration for continuing the fight that the erstwhile Kufour administration started in this regard.
Though, we should savour the good news for now, we should be very mindful of the fact that the real battle to fight now is the provision of good drinking water to communities where the guinea worm infection was prevalent, and the continued education of people not to drink or bath contaminated water or else, another outbreak that will erode all the successes chalked.
Now that guinea worm is now history, government should now focus its attention to the complete eradication of ailments like Measles, Meningitis, Hepatitis B, Polio and others. This will go a long way to save the country the thousands of Ghana cedis invested by government to purchase drugs to combat these ailments. All hands should therefore be on deck so as to realize the dream of Ghana free of cases of measles, meningitis, hepatitis B, polio, and others.
A wealthy nation the old adage says is determined by the health of its people, therefore we should strive to do better than what we have immediately achieved, provided we do away with the political coloration of issues of national concern.
ERIC OTENG JESSE
SANTA MARIA, ACCRA
CT3652 CANTONMENTS- ACCRA
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