Speaker donates medical consumables to Upper W/R • As Meningitis cases rise

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has presented medical consumables worth GH¢300,000 to the Upper West Regional Health Directorate to fight the outbreak of meningitis in the region.

The donation is to supplement the efforts of the government to provide the needed care to the people of the region during this trying moment.

Presenting the items to the Regional Minister for onward presentation to the Regional Health Directorate, Mr Bagbin said he was concerned about the rising number of suspected cases and the number of fatalities.

He said Parliament was working with the government to combat the menace and assured the health workers in the region of Parliament’s support.

“None of us is dozing off or sleeping. It is something that we believe we should start working on to do away with forever,” he said.

Pledging further support to the region in the fight against the surge in meningitis, the Speaker also advised residents to take their health seriously as “It is the only thing that is yours. Any other thing you acquire is for others,” he said.

The Member of Parliament for Lawra, Bede Ziedeng, on behalf of the Upper West Region Caucus of Members of Parliament, pledged a cash donation of GH¢10,000.00 to support the work of the health directorate in the region.

Peak season, cases

Receiving the items, the Upper West Regional Director of Health, Dr Damien Punguyire, expressed appreciation for the gesture and said the items would go a long way to ensure that the free medical treatment being offered to the meningitis patients “does not collapse healthcare delivery in the region.”

The Regional Health Director said the region needed all the support it could get to be ready to face the challenge ahead, particularly in March, stating that it is in March that the heat was quite intense and therefore increased the number of cases being recorded.

So far this year, the Upper West Region has recorded 16 fatalities due to meningitis with 22 confirmed cases and 129 suspected cases.

Dr Punguyire said out of the 16 deaths, 13 had been confirmed to have been caused by meningitis while one proved negative and the two others were still under investigation.

Also, except Wa East and Sissala West, all the other eight out of the 11 districts in the region have recorded suspected cases of meningitis.

Currently, 29 people infected with the disease are on admission, with three in critical condition.

Awareness, public education

The Regional Health Director said while the personnel were ready to handle the situation, there would be a need to marshal all the necessary support to increase awareness creation and public education on the precautionary measures that the public could take to prevent getting infected with the disease.

He reiterated the call on the public to report early to the hospital to get treated and not to wait for their conditions to get worse before visiting the health facility.

Dr Punguyire explained that there was no vaccination against meningitis but early reporting could make a big difference.

Appreciation

On behalf of the people of the region, the Upper West Regional Minister, Charles Lwanga Puozuing, expressed gratitude to the Speaker for the donation which he said would complement what the sector minister presented to provide the needed care to those affected by the disease.

He also expressed his appreciation to the National Lottery Authority (NLA) which also presented a cheque for GH¢100,000.00 in support of the fight against meningitis.