A PILOT scheme aimed at eradicating guinea worm at Nyeko, a farming community in the Savelugu-Nanton District in the Northern Region, has been launched at Savelugu.
As part of the scheme, 40 “Life Straw” family water filtering equipment valued at approximately $1,200 have been provided for the community, including the Savelugu Experimental School.
The aim of the gesture is to ensure that the people get access to potable water in order to prevent the contracting of water-borne diseases.
The facilities were provided by Vestergaard Frandsen, an Accra-based business entity with support from the Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC) and the Tuma-Kavi Development Organisation, both non-governmental organisations based in the Northern Region.
The scheme was inaugurated during the celebration of this year’s World Water Day at Savelugu on the theme: “Shared water, shared opportunities”.
The Country Director of the CCFC, Mrs Sanatu Nantogma, in a speech read on her behalf, said her outfit was promoting the use of the “Life Straw” filtering equipment and rain water harvesting as a strategy to augment existing water supply, as well as meet the demands for providing potable water in guinea worm-endemic area.
“The availability of safe and reliable water supply plays a significant role in the ability of people to care for their families and earn a living; adequate and proactive water resources management is essential for a country’s growth,“ she observed.
According to her, the CCFC focused on water, sanitation and hygiene as part of its programmes with the aim of mitigating the scarcity of water in the future.
The Programme Manager of the CCFC, Mr Paul Twene, stated that the scheme would be expanded to cover 25 communities in the future.
The Sponsorship Co-ordinator of Tuma-Kavi Development Programme, Mr Abukar Ayuba, who demonstrated the use of the equipment to pupils of the Savelugu Experimental School, said a child-to-child group had been inaugurated at the school to help educate the pupils on sanitation issues.
A junior high school (JHS) Three pupil of the school, Master Muftawu Tanko, stated that the campaign on the use of the equipment would help enlighten his colleagues on the harmful effects of drinking dirty water.
He, therefore, appealed to the CCFC to organise more of such programmes for pupils in the area.
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